BrotherlySomething?
by my shangri-la
Summary: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.
1. Chapter 1

Life with Derek: Brotherly…Something?

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Life with Derek; I can barely afford my car. I only own LWD in my imagination. (I have an over-active imagination… but that's why you love my stories, right??

Chapter 1

May 25, 2011

It was 9:00am as a 19 year-old Casey McDonald walked briskly through the busy airport, wheeling her bags behind her, to catch a taxi to her mother and step-father's home in London, Ontario. She had spent just under four years inhabiting the house after her mother remarried. Those years were filled with many memories, both good and bad. Memories that mostly centered on her step-brother Derek.

Derek. Those who knew him understood that saying that he did something Derek-like explained everything. And just the mention of his name evoked thoughts in her that she had hoped were put at rest long ago.

Spending a year on her own had done wonders for Casey; this was not to say that she did not miss her rambunctious family, however. She approached a cab, handing over her two bags to be put into the trunk, though she kept her purse with her. Climbing into the car, she gave the driver the address and sat quietly, remembering the days before she left and contemplating her return.

_August 24, 2010_

_Casey had spent the past three weeks packing and getting herself ready to leave for college. She had been thrilled with her acceptance at NYU, but as the days flew by, she became more and more anxious. She had been closing the last of her boxes when Derek barged into her room without knocking – as usual. _

"_Hey, Case –"he stopped when he saw her sitting on the floor in the middle of her almost packed room. "Whoa, you know that you don't have to leave for four more days, right?"_

_Casey surveyed the room somewhat sadly. "Yeah, I know." She controlled her features when she realized he was watching her, before looking up."Did you want something?" she asked tiredly._

_He watched her for a moment, as if deciding to say something else before replying, "Nora wanted me to come get you for dinner."_

_Her head quirked to the side in confusion, eliciting a quiet laugh from Derek before he addressed her silent confusion, "Looks like the keener lost track of time", he stated with amusement._

"_Well", Casey said, "I did pretty much finish packing though I guess. I should be so surprised that so much time has gone by-". Her diatribe was cut off by Derek. _

"_Case, stop rambling." He over-dramatically motioned for her to shut her still opened mouth. She groaned but shut her mouth anyway. "C'mon, I'm hungry", Derek stated impatiently, before holding his hand out to her, only to wiggle his fingers when she did nothing but stare. She took his hand, slightly surprised, but let him pull her up onto her feet. _

_When she was finally steady on her feet, she realized their proximity. The only times they were this close was when they were too busy fighting to care that they were breathing on each other. Normally this was grounds for an all-out war. Casey had always insisted that Derek needed to respect her "personal bubble". This usually just insured that Derek did everything in his power to "pop" said bubble._

_Before Casey opened her mouth to say anything, Derek was half-way down the hallway. She still hadn't moved when Derek turned to look over his shoulder. He sighed when he saw she wasn't following him. He walked purposefully towards her only saying, "What part of 'I'm hungry' don't you understand?" before he grabbed her and tossed her over his left shoulder like a sack of potatoes, causing her to shriek with surprise and anger as he tromped quickly down the stairs._

_When Derek hit the bottom step and still hadn't set her down, she hit his back with a clenched fist. "Der-ek, put me down!" _

"_No can do, Princess. Left to your own devices-" this time Casey interrupted Derek._

"_I work very efficiently", she said in a saccharine voice._

"_No", he contradicted, "you take too long."_

"_Well, what if, what if I wasn't hungry?" she sputtered._

"_Then you should have said so. And, besides, you weigh, what? Thirty pounds? Eat something", he declared, succinctly, setting her down next to her chair. He walked around the table like nothing unusual happened, as he ignored her glare and they both sat. _

_Derek began shoveling lasagna onto his plate as Casey grabbed a dinner roll from the basket, both studiously ignoring the looks from the rest of the family. For, even though it was normal for Derek and Casey to argue during the entire, it wasn't normal for Derek to have __**carried **__Casey to dinner._

_George and Nora were giving each other looks that were probably supposed to be discreet, but were nothing of the kind. They battle back and forth. __**You ask them. No, you ask them. No, you.**_

_Casey and Derek pretended to ignore the indiscreet conversation, while Lizzie and Edwin watch the ping pong match between their parents with unashamed interest. Marti was in her own world trying to make a smiley face out of her dinner._

_The battle was finally over with a pointed glare from Nora and George cleared his throat before looking at Nora again. __**Do I really have to ask them?**__ His face seemed to say. Nora rolled her eyes in defeat before looking at the two-headed monster that was Derek and Casey._

"_Casey, Derek", she started, "what in the world was that?"_

_They looked at each other before glancing between the parents, while feigning ignorance. Casey finally spoke up. "What was what, Mom?"_

_Nora looked at her normally honest daughter in disbelief. "Casey, do you really think that we are so oblivious to think that Derek carrying you to dinner is a normal occurrence?"_

"_It had better not become a normal occurrence", Casey muttered under her breath._

_Derek looked up at her and smirked before returning to his dinner._

_George finally found his bearings and said, "I hate to even ask", he paused to take a breath, like it was the last breath he would take, before continuing, "but, why did Derek carrying Casey to dinner?"_

_His question was indirect, but he wasn't really sure if he wanted the answer at all, much less who he wanted the answer from. This just gave license for the teens to speak at the same time._

_And just as if a switch was pulled, Derek said,"I was hungry and Casey was taking too long" at the same time that Casey said, "Derek was acting like an immature cave-man!"_

_Nora buried her head in her hands, clearly wondering why she had felt the need to ask. Of course it would start a fight; everything and anything could start a fight between them._

_Derek grinned at Casey, making her breath catch slightly before she looked at him suspiciously. "Casey thinks I'm a man, good to see you're finally coming to your senses, Case. I was worried for a while."_

_She groaned, shaking her head at him."You would twist my words to make yourself feel better, wouldn't you? Isn't your ego big enough?"_

"_Wouldn't you like to know?"He asked with a raised eyebrow._

_She looked at him with wide eyes before shaking her head._

"_Aw, what's the matter, Princess? Did I 'pop your personal bubble'?"_

"_You wish", she replied, somewhat cheekily._

_Her reply caused Derek to choke a little bit on his water._

_Casey gave him a small grin, before returning to her dinner, appearing to be quite pleased with herself._

_Lizzie and Edwin looked at each other wide-eyed. They were now fifteen, and both fully aware of the meaning behind those seemingly innocent statements, and were both grateful at the cluelessness of their parents. They watched Nora motion to George to let it go, and they proceeded to eat the rest of dinner in a semi-quiet fashion. At least it was quiet until Marti came out of her food art world at proceeded to tell in great detail, everything about her day at Dimi's. _

9:45 am

Casey was brought out of her reverie by the jolt of the now parked car. She looked out the dirty window of the cab to see that the house looked exactly the same as it had when she had been here in the spring, except now there were no remnants of snow or mud. The lawn was green and it beckoned her to just lay on it, basking in the sun. She didn't follow through with the whim however. She brought her luggage to the door and rang the bell. She still had her house key, but she felt awkward using it after being gone for so long.

Moments later the door flew open, revealing an excited but sleepy Lizzie still in her pajamas, with Edwin behind her. Lizzie's shriek brought Nora and George to the living room, and Casey was pulled into the house and was quickly having oxygen squeezed out of her by the family.

"Guys", she laughed, "Oxygen is becoming an issue."

The family backed off just in time for eleven year old Marti, who still wore purple pajamas, to fly down the stairs and plow into her, taking her breath away again.

"Casey!" she cried in delight. "We _missed_ you! Smerek came home three days ago! You should have been here!"

"Aw, Marti, I missed you too. I would have came sooner but one of our finals got pushed back and made everything crazy", she stated.

"Well, we're glad you're here now", Nora said.

Casey smiled, but before she could reply, Marti went to the bottom of the stairs and screeched, "Smerek, get your but out of bed and come down here to see Casey!"

Casey's eyes went wide with horror. "Marti", she hissed, "I don't think-"

But before she could finish the statement that everyone was thinking, she heard from the top of the stairs, "Geez, Case, I know it's been awhile, but got to stop setting yourself up to be insulted. Besides, I thought the 'not thinking' was my job. I cannot be replaced by a keener. It's just not right." He was now standing in front of a wide-eyed Casey, smirking like he had a secret.

Suddenly he grabbed her left wrist, and she started before realizing he was only looking at her watch. The thought made her flinch, wondering what he would say about being woken up before noon at the start of summer vacation because of her.

He just shook his head, saying, "Only you would get a flight before noon. Well at least we know you're still crazy. But now I am in desperate need of coffee. But first", he stopped himself and pulled Casey to him and hugged her just long enough for her to respond and then pulled back and went into the kitchen like nothing had happened.

The family just stood there staring at each other, speechless. And Casey was completely bewildered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Life with Derek; I can barely afford my car. I only own LWD in my imagination. (I have an over-active imagination… but that's why you love my stories, right?? But I do own Casey's college roommate, Sheri. Enjoy… and review. Thank you for those who already have. It makes me happy.

Chapter 2

May 25, 2011

9:55 am

It was several minutes before anyone spoke again.

"Well, that was… different", stated George in a somewhat subdued tone.

"Different?!" Casey asked as quietly as she could while being on the verge of panic. "That wasn't anything resembling different. I think Hell must have frozen over!" She buried her face in her hands while mumbling, "I need to go lie down."

Nora looked at her daughter with understanding. "Of course, honey. Get some rest; I'll call you for lunch."

"Thanks, Mom", she said wearily. "I'll feel better once I get some sleep." _I hope._

"I know you will", Nora replied. "We're all glad you're back."

"Me too", Casey acknowledged. "Even if Derek _is _acting crazy."

"Sure, hon." _Of course everything is still about Derek_, Nora thought amusedly to herself.

Casey picked up her luggage to drag it up the stairs saying, "I'll see you all at lunch."

When Casey's bedroom door was safely shut, and Nora was sure that Derek was still absently drinking his coffee, she stated, "The two-headed monster is back." This elicited a groan from George and Lizzie, a snort from Edwin, and a shriek from Marti, who still sometimes acted very much like a six-year-old.

"Dad-dy! I thought you said there was no such thing as monsters." The sight of Marti with her hands of her hips and her tapping right foot, a very good imitation of Casey, was enough to send Lizzie into a fit of giggles as she pulled Edwin up the stairs to contain herself, as well as letting their parents play mind games with Marti by themselves. She could outsmart them any day.

Meanwhile, Derek sat at the island in the kitchen with his back to the living room nursing his large cup of coffee. He was contemplating the repercussions of his somewhat rash actions, something he didn't usually do, and it was making his head hurt. Of course it wasn't like he hadn't thought about it, just never acted on it. Well, he had… once. But he was in denial about it. And she started it, so it was like it never happened. Except it did.

He felt like smacking himself on the side of his head, but he already had a headache. _Hugging Casey. _**What the hell had he been thinking? **She had just been looking so adorable, about to go into a mini-freak-out when he had appeared on the stairs. He debated for a minute whether he should let her sweat it out for a few minutes, but he had missed her too much. And she had looked exhausted, not like the normally perky morning Casey that he was so used to. So he had grabbed her arm, mostly just to touch her, because it had been _months_, and to freak her out a little bit. He was still Derek Venturi.

Then he _had_ to hug her, even if she never understood why. And he knew that even though it had been unprecedented, his family, _their_ family, would not question his actions, for fear of starting an argument. Of that he was very grateful. Now Casey on the other hand, was another story.

Casey thrived on confrontation, and to be honest, so did he when it came to her. But he hoped to put off the inevitable for the time being. He dumped his remaining coffee in the sink and rounded past the family in the living room quickly before seeking the solitude of his room.

The next few days are quiet and somewhat peaceful, despite the weirdness in the air. On, Saturday, Casey woke up to a silent house. She walked down the stairs in her pajamas to find a note on the island in the kitchen.

_Casey and Derek,_

_George and I took the kids to the zoo for the day. We figured you wouldn't want to go. We left you some money in the jar for lunch. We should be home by 5pm, and will go out to eat for dinner. Please make sure you are both ready to leave at 5:30, no excuses. Please try to get along. See you tonight._

_Love, Mom_

Casey rolled her eyes at her mother, who still believed it was possible to have a nicely blended family. The easiest thing Casey had that had been blended was a martini. She looked at the clock on the stove, seeing that it was only 9:42am, she knew that Derek wouldn't be up for a few more hours, and she wanted to take advantage of the silence.

Casey decided to take a longer shower than normal, before getting dressed, blow-drying her hair and running her straightener through it, applying her makeup, and completing her morning routine. It was still only 10:30am by the time she finished and she went back down to the kitchen to eat a banana while 

she made a fresh pot of coffee. When the coffee was finally ready, she filled a somewhat large cup adding a little bit of cream and teaspoon of sugar. Casey grimaced at the slightly bitter taste before becoming accustomed to it. She never used to be a coffee drinker, but that was just one of the things that had changed during her year away at college. Now coffee was a necessity, she wasn't necessarily proud of it, but she convinced herself that drinking an herbal tea at night could make up for it.

She finished her coffee fairly quickly and settled herself down on the couch after retrieving her latest book from her room to pick up where she had left off on the plane ride. Her book was a mystery novel, which had her captivated until she got to chapter thirteen, deciding that was a good stopping place.

It was 11:45 when she walked up to her room wanting to check her emails. She figured it was late enough that she didn't mind if Derek woke up, so as she waited for her laptop to load, she plugged her iPod into her radio and turned it up reasonably loud. After all, she had spent four years trying to sleep through Derek's loud music every night, so she didn't feel all that bad.

A song started as she logged on to her laptop, and she smiled as she recognized it. "LoveStoned" by Justin Timberlake.

_She's freaky and she knows it_

_She's freaky but I like it_

_Listen_

_She grabs the yellow bottle_

_She likes the way it hits her lips_

_She gets to the bottom_

_It sends her on a trip so right_

_She might be goin' home with me tonight_

_She looks like a model_

_Except she's got a little more ass_

_Don't even bother_

_Unless you've got that thing that she likes_

_I hope she's goin' home with me tonight_

_Chorus_

_Those flashing lights come from everywhere_

_The way they hit her I just stop and stare_

_She's got me loved stoned_

_I think that she knows_

_She's freaky and she knows it_

_She's freaky and I like it_

_She shuts the room down_

_The way she walks and causes a fuss_

_The baddest in town_

_She's flawless like some uncut ice_

_I hope she's goin' home with me tonight_

_And all she wants to do is dance_

_That's why you'll find her on the floor_

_But you don't have a chance_

_Unless you move the way that she likes_

_That's why she's goin' home with me tonight_

_(Chorus)_

Casey sang the song quietly to herself as she read an email from her roommate Sheri telling Casey to call her sometime today. She made a mental note to call her as soon as she finished going through her emails.

_Meanwhile…_

Derek woke up to the thumping of some ridiculous club mix of hip hop, and groaned as he looked at his clock. 11:56. It wasn't even noon yet. He did not want to get up yet. And he hated Justin Timberlake more than ever right now.

He got up, fully intending on yelling at Casey for blasting him out of bed, not to say that he wasn't proud of her actions a little bit. But once he opened her door and saw her on her cell phone somewhere at the start of a conversation with someone he didn't know, he settled for just a slightly sarcastic comment.

"Just because I haven't seen you in three and a half months, doesn't mean I wanna hear your bad taste in music this early in the morning, or ever", he stated matter-of-factly, finally getting her attention.

She rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly before saying, "Hold on a minute, Sheri", and she set her phone down.

"Well, good morning, Sunshine. It's about time you dragged yourself out of bed", she said patronizingly.

"It's summer, and I'd still be sleeping if it wasn't for you. Where is everybody, anyway?" he asked, finally realizing the lack of noise.

"They took the kids to the zoo. There's a note downstairs, but I'm guessing you don't plan on reading it…"

"Good guess."

She sighed. "They left us money for lunch, and they'll be back by five supposedly, and want us all to go out to dinner tonight, so be ready to leave by five-thirty."

"Why are we going out to dinner?" he asked.

"Guilt for ditching us, maybe", she responded. "Or family… bonding."

They both shuddered.

"I was going to order pizza in a few minutes; you want one?" Casey asked, already knowing the answer.

"Duh. As long as you don't expect me to share."

"Of course not, that would be crazy."

"Yeah, but so are you, so it was a chance I wasn't willing to take by assumption."

"Derek, do you ever understand what you're talking about?"

"No, but it usually sounds like I do." He smirked as she groaned. "I'm going to take a shower, not that it's any of your business. Order the pizza before I'm done or I might eat yours too." He walked out, leaving the door open.

"Sorry, Sheri", Casey said. "Derek was harassing me."

"Well, hun, it didn't seem like you minded too much", Sheri said with a laugh.

"That's not true. Being used to something is completely different from liking it", Casey said with conviction.

"Whatever you say, Case", she said laughingly.

"Ugh, Sheri, he's just, I don't even know. One thing's for sure. He is why more complicated than people give him credit for." She sighed, again.

"I don't know him, but he sounded pretty straight forward to me. Maybe _you're_ the one who makes things complicated", her friend suggested gently.

"Probably", she admitted grudgingly. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but Derek was serious when he said he would eat all the food if it's not here soon. I'll call you when we get back from the fiasco that will be dinner."

"Alright, Casey. But a quick question first. Does your family know that you're such a pessimist?"

"Good bye, Sheri", Casey sing-songed before promptly hanging up. She quickly ordered to pizzas and breadsticks before going downstairs to distract herself and wait for the pizza to arrive.

She sat down on the couch in the seat closest to Derek's recliner and began channel surfing to amuse herself. Several minutes later Derek trampled down the stairs and jumped into his recliner unceremoniously.

"Where's the food?" he asked.

"On its way", she answered.

"Okay… why are you channel surfing? I thought you hated when people did that."

"I changed my mind", she said, not looking at him. "And I'm bored", she added as an afterthought.

He looked at her quizzically, ready to ask her to explain, but the doorbell rang.

He jumped out of his chair and ran to the door, anticipating the smell of pizza. Casey had walked calmly into the kitchen to grab the money and walked to the man to hand him thirty dollars, including the tip. By the time she shut the door Derek had taken the pizza to the kitchen and was getting ready to inhale the pizza in the first box that he opened, until he saw that it had vegetables.

"Gross", he said to himself.

"Don't complain. I got you your own meat lovers. So get out of my pizza and use a plate." Casey walked to the cupboard and took out two plastic plates handing one to Derek before putting one piece of pizza on her plate along side of a breadstick and going to the fridge to take out a diet Pepsi. She had gone to 

the store yesterday and bought a twenty-four pack of the diet soda, knowing that no one in her family would drink the stuff.

She had just sat in one of the barstools at the island when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID before grinning and answering.

"Hey, Matt! Missing me already?" She hadn't talked to him since the day before she left, and had been missing him already, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Hey, Case! How's vacation going? I can't believe you ditched us for the whole summer", he said sadly.

"Well, it's not my fault you had to work. Although it would have been nice to just bring you with me."

"Well why didn't you ask?" he inquired.

"Because I didn't have enough room in my suitcases for a stow-away, you know I'm a terrible packer. Besides, if I took you, Sheri would murder me."

"Have you talked to her since you left?"

"Yeah, about an hour ago. She was being as persistent as usual", she said with a laugh.

"Again?" he asked.

"I just have to try not to get myself into trouble. Not that it will be easy."

"Yeah, Case, you're a regular trouble-maker. Why don't you just jump him and get it over with?"

Casey went wide-eyed, as she felt her face flush; all the while hoping Derek wasn't paying attention. No such luck. He was staring at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly curious about her red face.

She groaned. "Matt! We are not having this conversation!" she proclaimed adamantly.

"Oh, c'mon Case, why are you freaking out? You know it's true. And I can still practically _hear_ your face turning red", he said, clearly making fun of her.

At her silence, he asked, "He's in the room isn't he?"

She sighed.

"Well then, I'll let you attack him, I guess", he proclaimed, melodramatically.

"You are so not helping. And I wouldn't want to if you would stop bringing it up!" she insisted.

"That's not true; but I can't say I'm not slightly jealous. Talk to you later, Casey."

"Bye, Matt. Thanks for calling; even if it was just to annoy me" she said jokingly.

"That's what I'm here for."

She giggled before saying, "Be nice to Sheri while I'm gone."

And then she shut her cell phone before resuming eating her pizza, trying to ignore the fact that Derek was watching her intently. Finally she looked up and met his gaze; the intensity of it scared her slightly, and she was curious as to why he was looking at her like that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own LWD or anything else, except Sheri and Matt. **A/N**: Lol and I know that the middle of the chapter will be torture, but I will let you know what's going on before the end of the chapter, so don't cheat and skip ahead!! It will be worth it I promise! Enjoy, I know this took longer than expected, sorry!! (Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, the legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in most providences, and 19 in the others. I'm not sure which is which, but to answer the question about underage drinking, is no. It is legal since Casey and Derek are both 19 in this story.) And btw, this chapter took on a life of its own toward the end, and it wouldn't come to a stopping point… so it's fairly long… I don't think most of you will mind though.

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

Chapter 3

Flashback: _And then she shut her cell phone before resuming eating her pizza, trying to ignore the fact that Derek was watching her intently. Finally she looked up and met his gaze; the intensity of it scared her slightly, and she was curious as to why he was looking at her like that._

She tilted her head looking at him questioningly. "What?" she finally asked, breaking the trance they were in.

He cleared his expression before asking, "So, who was that? New boyfriend?"

Casey willed herself not to laugh, saying, "Who, Matt? He's my roommate's brother."

Derek looked slightly relieved, but his body was still rigid. "So why was he calling you?"

Casey wondered what he was getting at, but still answered. "Because we're friends."

"That was way more than a _friendly_ conversation. Besides, how many guy friends do you have that you let say things to you that would make you blush like that?", he retorted.

"Eavesdropping? Nice", she said, trying to change the tone of the conversation.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Casey you were right here; I couldn't ignore that conversation if I tried."

"That may be true", she conceded. "But why do you care? And I don't think you were actually trying."

"Just wondering, because usually when you have a boyfriend, we all hear about it until we want to puke" he stated.

She sighed in frustration. "I do not. And I did date Matt for about two months, but we decided to just stay friends. He's the one that got me my job at the bar."

"BAR?" His eyes almost popped out. "I thought you worked at a bookstore!"

She looked down in embarrassment. "Ummm…."

"Casey?" he prodded.

"What?" she muttered.

"Why did you lie to Nora?" he asked.

"Because I knew she wouldn't like it" she said, like it was a stupid question. "And it pays better."

He looked at her carefully. "Are you having money problems?"

She looked thoughtfully at him for a moment before saying, "No, not exactly. I mean it's not like I'm completely broke or anything, but things were a little tight. And in didn't lie to my mom."

He raised an eyebrow, "Casey, even you should know what the definition of a lie is."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. And I didn't lie because when I told her I was working at the bookstore on campus I was working at the bookstore on campus. I just never told her that I switched jobs."

"Why?" he asked.

"I told you why-", she started.

"No", he said. "I mean why did you quit at the library, that being a respectable job, to be some kind of waitress?"

She smirked comically at him. "I'm not a waitress. I work behind the bar."

"People pay for you to mix their alcohol? I'm shocked", he made a face.

She grinned. "Ha ha, very funny. I'm actually really good at it, but you probably won't find out for yourself."

"So, you never answered my question", he reminded her.

"What question was that?" she wondered, feigning stupidity.

He gave her a pointed look, "Casey."

She gave him a wry smile. "It was too boring."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're Casey. You live for boring."

"That may have been true in the past, but things change. I needed them to change." She knew that things were edging dangerously close to the thing she desperately wanted to avoid, but she needed to be at least partially honest.

"Why?" he wondered. "I mean, I know that I teased you about it, but there wasn't _that_ much wrong with you." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "Oh, gee, thanks." _Now he tells me._

"My pleasure", he stated cockily. "But seriously, why?"

She knew that she couldn't tell him the whole truth. She would be embarrassed, and he would laugh at her, if he even believed it. So she settled with saying, "I just wanted the full college experience."

He looked at her skeptically. "Right."

I looked at the clock. It was almost 1:30. "I have to go", she stated suddenly.

His face turned from a look of skepticism to one of confusion. "Go where?"

"Umm, nowhere interesting… I'll be back in a few hours", she said nervously.

"No", he said.

"No, what?" she asked in an irritated voice. "I don't remember needing your permission to leave."

"Fine, then I'm coming with you", he said.

"That won't be necessary", she replied, hoping to end the discussion as she walked away.

He shook his head at her retreating figure before following her into the living room.

"Casey, I'm going with you, end of story", he said, grabbing his coat.

"Ugh, fine! If you insist on coming, at least bring your hockey bag", she gave up trying to convince him to stay home, mostly because if they continued fighting, they could be late getting back for dinner. And she did kind of want the company.

_Well, that was easy,_ he thought. _Wait, why __**was**__ that so easy?_

Derek had grabbed his hockey bag, albeit slightly confused. They got into Casey's new baby blue Neon and drove off.

He recognized their surroundings, but was still unsure about their final destination. He had tried to ask her where they were going, but after the third time he asked she threatened to leave him on the side of the road, which he knew from prior experience, was not an empty threat, causing him to shut up.

Derek was confused at Casey's recent actions. It wasn't completely unusual behavior, because even through high school, with the exception of dating Max, she always did her own thing, refusing to follow the crowd. Derek had dismissed her ditzy attitude while dating the football-head as temporary insanity – or a hostile takeover by aliens - but it seemed that Casey had transformed into who she was now, of her own volition, not because of peer pressure.

Her taste in music had altered drastically since high school. She had stopped listening to her angry chick music completely, so it seemed, and her music collection consisted largely of hip hop and R&B club mixes.

When he questioned her about her change in music she just chuckled, saying, "Why do you care, Derek? Did you really want to listen to _The Raincoats_?"

"The _whats?_ Is that really a band name?" he asked in disbelief.

"You know we've had this conversation before, Derek", Casey said amusedly.

"We have? I don't remember that", he replied.

Casey laughed. "Of course you don't. But I believe it ended with you stating that girls should never wear raincoats unless the only thing underneath it is lingerie. And then I smacked you in the back of the head and slammed my bedroom door in your face."

"Oh, yeah. The thing I said about raincoats still applies, you know. Just in case you were ever planning on wearing one." He smirked at her mischievously.

Casey's jaw dropped open, but before she could screech her indignation, her cell phone went off. "Shit", she said when she heard the ringtone. She ignored Derek's look of shock at her swearing as she fumbled for her phone in her purse while trying to drive in her lane. Retrieving it successfully, she flipped it open frantically, saying, "We're on our way, almost there actually."

"We? Who's coming with you?" said the voice on the other end.

Casey sighed in annoyance, "Derek."

"Whoa, how'd that happen?"

Casey gave an amused chuckle. "Truthfully, no one was there to distract him seeing as the parents took the kids to the zoo for the day, and it's sad really, he should visit his relatives more often."

Casey glanced over to find Derek making a face at her. She laughed outright.

"What's so funny?" said the voice.

Casey tried to contain herself, saying, "Derek is making faces at me because he has no idea what we're talking about, and I won't tell him where we're going."

"You don't think –", he started.

"What?" she asked when she realized that he wasn't going to finish his thought.

"Case, he's gonna have something to say about this-"he started.

"He's Derek", Casey said amusedly, "he has something to say about everything."

He laughed. "That's true, but he still won't like it."

"Aw, don't you know that's what your there for, to provide distraction", she said with an air of finality. "Besides", she added, "we both know he'd love to see you. He's just too lazy to get off the recliner."

"Hey!" Derek interjected. "Who would I _love _to see?" he asked offhandedly. She waved him off, and he groaned in annoyance.

The incoherent mumbling on the other end of the phone provoked boisterous laughter from Casey. "Ok, we're pulling into the parking lot. See you in a minute." She hung up and looked at Derek.

He was looking around their high school parking lot with a look of horror. She laughed again. "Just remember that I tried to get you to stay home."

"Casey", he started slowly, "what are we doing here? I don't want to go back to high school", he whined childishly.

They got out of the car and Casey had to drag Derek down the path to the hockey rink. He followed her curiously down the hall to his old coach's office. "Case, I don't really think we should be back here."

She rolled her eyes before opening the door slowly, saying, "Knock, knock" and walking in with a grin on her face that mirrored the grin on the face of the person sitting behind the coach's desk. Derek just stood there with his mouth dropped open in shock, causing laughter from Casey and the new high school hockey coach, his best friend.

"Sam?" Derek finally sputtered dramatically.

Sam smirked at Derek before saying, "Dude, you should have kept in touch. Then you wouldn't be so far out of the loop."

Derek's mouth continued opening and closing until Casey forcibly closed his open mouth. "Well, it seems I was wrong", she said, laughing, "he doesn't have something to say about everything."

Sam laughed lightly, "A speechless Derek, that's something I thought I would never see." Derek kept standing there with a dumb look on his face until Casey finally sighed and lightly smacked him in the back of the head, as per her usual way to get his attention.

Finally being smacked out of his reverie – literally, he retorted, "Ow! What the hell, Case?"

"Well, did you really want to keep standing there looking stupid?" At his facial expression, she continued, "And Sam is right. You really should have kept in better touch."

He eyed her silently for a moment, gauging her expression. Her arms were folded across her chest in slight indignation that he supposed was for Sam, but her eyes held hurt that made him suddenly feel very guilty, mostly because he could see the effort she was expending to keep her face void of any emotion. Their whole relationship was always, at least indirectly, about emotion. And the fact that he could tell she was trying to hide her emotions from him, was not something he was used to, and it made him wonder, _who the hell is this girl?_

--

They're unintentional staring contest continued for several minutes, despite the fact that Sam was standing there just watching the two of them, half hoping that they would just jump each other like they wanted to, but dismissing it just as quickly, knowing that it wouldn't happen. He was grateful for this though, because he really didn't want _that_ happening in his office.

Casey could feel Derek's eyes on her, trying to read her mind. She knew she shouldn't have said anything to begin with, but she was surprised that he even had the slightest clue that she wasn't just talking about Sam that he hadn't kept in contact with.

Derek kept staring at Casey, half-hoping that she would just say what she was thinking, and half-hoping she wouldn't. As he watched her guarded face, he sighed, allowing his eyes to soften into somewhat of an apology, all the while conveying that they would be having a long conversation when they were alone.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly, her body now relaxed slightly. Suddenly, she remembered Sam, and turned around feeling embarrassed. "Sam-" she started.

He grinned at her in amusement. "Don't worry about it, Case. I know how it is."

Her eyes widened at the implications, before giving him a wry smile. "Keep him busy", she said. "I'm gonna go… you know."

Sam gave a slight nod in her direction as she walked out, before saying, "So, dude, what's been goin' on with you?"

Derek's eyes followed Casey as she walked out of the room, ignoring Sam once again. "Fine, yeah, sure", he said monotonously. "Where did she go?" he asked, waving a hand in the general direction of where Casey went.

Derek was still staring out the door when Sam's voice brought him out of his confused state. Waving a hand in front of Derek's face, to get his attention, Sam re-asked his previous question.

_**Sam's and Derek's POV**_

Derek looked back at Sam somewhat confusedly before beginning to answer the question, "Oh, you know, school, work – really where did she go?" he finished, glancing back out the door.

Sam leaned against his desk comfortably, his arms crossed and a grin on his face. "Well", Sam started, "it's nice to know that everything is the same between the two of you, at least; although, things could have been different if you hadn't implemented your 'no contact' rule."

Derek turned his head back to look at Sam with a snap, "What are you talking about?" he asked, distractedly.

"Dude!" Sam said in exasperation. Finally catching Derek's full attention –or maybe most of it- he said, "Do you really have to be in the same room as Casey to carry a half-way intelligent conversation?"

That got Derek's attention, and he turned to Sam incredulously, before sputtering out a very intelligent, "Uh, no?"

Sam buried his face in his hands for a few seconds in amused frustration, before standing up and grabbing Derek by the shoulder, pushing him from behind, out the door and towards the hockey arena where they could hear music playing.

Derek was still slightly confused as he followed Sam dumbly until they stopped in front of the latch-door that led onto the ice and they could see Casey doing what seemed to be a much practiced routine with a series of complicated jumps and spins.

While Sam stood with a smile on his face, watching her graceful maneuvers, Derek stood with his mouth hanging open in shock and awe. A minute or so later, Sam turned to Derek with a smirk,"Dude, you're starting to drool." Derek only managed half a glare, before Sam pulled him over to take a seat on the bleachers.

This is what took Derek out of his reverie and he asked, "Why didn't I know she could skate?"

Sam gave his very dense best friend a calculating look before stating vaguely, "Probably because you never asked her".

Derek raised an eyebrow, "But she-"

Sam interrupted his question, saying, "No, she wouldn't have told you anyway, now shut up. If we interrupt her she will come over here and make us swallow her ice blades", he finished with a shudder.

They sat silently for about twenty minutes, before the cd stopped and Casey skated to the wall in front of them. "Hey guys", she said, brushing back a few stray hairs that had come loose from her pony tail. "I thought I would have to come find you. You guys catch up?" she asked while looking at Sam questioningly.

"Sort of", he said with a shrug, "Everything is about the same anyhow."

Casey looked at him suspiciously, and he gave her a discreet wink, and she laughed. "Good to know. Wanna come join me, now?"

Sam looked at Derek, "Did you bring your skates?" he asked.

Derek, who had been mute until this point, said, "They're in her car."

Casey rolled her eyes before reaching over the tiny wall and bringing up her purse before digging through it and finding the keys and tossing them to Derek who caught them right before they would have hit him in the nose.

He sat there long enough for Casey to state plaintively, "Go get them!"

Derek shook his head as an action to divest thoughts from his mind that he didn't want to think about right now, before standing up and making his way towards the door they had come in earlier and back towards the parking lot.

As the door slammed shut, Casey turned to Sam, "What was that about?"

Sam, unwilling to spell it out for her, just gave her a pointed look before saying, "You two need to get your shit together already." Casey could be unbelievably dense sometimes, and adding the denial factor was annoying Sam greatly.

"Sam, that's not-" Casey started.

"What, Casey? Fair? You guys have been playing this game for years; it's time to get over it already. And for the record, I'm glad that he convinced you to bring him; you guys have too many secrets. I really can't believe you never told him, about this, at least." Sam, for his part, didn't like keeping secrets from his best friend and it was wearing on him.

Casey gave a wry grin, "And people don't think I can keep a secret."

Sam gave an exasperated sigh, "Casey-".

Casey groaned in annoyance, "I know you're right. I should have told him, and I'm sorry for making you keep secrets from him. That wasn't fair. But you know that I wasn't the one who didn't want him to know to begin with. And by the time I could have, it just would have been an awkward conversation."

Sam raised his eyebrows, "Oh, you mean like the one you'll have later tonight after your mom flips out at dinner?"

"Dammit!" Casey exclaimed in frustration. "You know what? I don't really care. She can choke on her water if she wants to, but enough is enough. She shouldn't have made me promise not-"

Her angry tirade was interrupted by Derek reentering the arena, hockey bag in hand, saying, "Sam what did you do to Casey? Now she's all cranky."

Casey elbowed Sam as he stifled a laugh. "Nothin', Dude."

She rolled her eyes, "Would you grow up, already? Can we skate already? I'm getting cold." To make her point she went to the middle of the rink and began dong figure eights while she waited for the guys to put on their hockey skates and join her.

The ride home had been silent, both Derek and Casey occupied with their own thoughts. Once they got home, it was almost 4:00. Casey muttered a quick, "I'm gonna go get ready for dinner", before running up to her bedroom and slamming the door and flinging herself onto her bed with a groan of frustration.

Several minutes later she decided that she needed a quick nap to get rid of the jumble of thoughts in her head, if only temporarily. She got up to fumble through her purse for her phone and set the alarm for 5:00 pm and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

By the time her mom and George had arrived home with the kids, Casey and Derek were dressed and ready for dinner. Twenty minutes later they all piled into the SUV their parents had bought two years ago, and headed to a seafood restaurant…


	4. Chapter 4

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!!

_Flashback: By the time her mom and George had arrived home with the kids, Casey and Derek were dressed and ready for dinner. Twenty minutes later they all piled into the SUV their parents had bought two years ago, and headed to a seafood restaurant…_

**Chapter 3**

Derek's POV

When Derek finally managed to pry his eyes open the next day, if the sunlight was any indication, it was no longer morning. Glancing over at the red numbers, he saw 12:47. He groaned, wanting to bury his head back under his pillow and go back to sleep.

Several minutes later after his attempts to fall back asleep proved useless, he yanked back the covers, got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for his shower. He fully intended to corner Casey sometime today and find out what the hell was going on with her.

Derek had quickly taken a shower and was in the silent kitchen making a sandwich. Nora and his dad were both at work and the kids had their various summer camp activities until 4:00.

He put a large sandwich together distractedly. Derek was thinking over the events of last night's dinner, wondering what to make of it all.

_It had started off badly to begin with. George and Nora should have known that Marti __**still **__didn't want to see her food swimming before it ended up on her plate. Thank god there had been chicken fingers on the kids menu. _

_The rest of the night had gone quite well. At least, it was better than some of the dinner's that they had all gone to. Although the end result for those dinners usually ended up with __**Casey **__shrieking because of something he had instigated himself._

_Their respective parents and three youngest siblings had chatted about their venture to the zoo. They had eventually gotten around to telling the story about the monkeys they saw. _

"_It was the best part", Edwin stated, enthusiastically. "We were watching these monkeys for a few minutes when two of them started fighting. It totally reminded us of you and Casey."_

_Derek was deciding whether or not he should be glaring at his little brother for comparing him to a monkey when Casey finally looked up from her food, "Why?" she asked._

_He had turned his gaze to her then, a little surprised that she had chosen now to chime into the conversation. She had been moping since they had left the hockey arena, and had said less than ten words since they had all piled into the car to go to dinner._

_Edwin turned to her to finish his story, "Well, first everything was fine because they were completely different sides of the cage. Then all the sudden they were picking up sh-"_

"_Edwin!" George cut him off sternly for using bad language in front of Marti. _

"_Sorry", he muttered sheepishly. "Well, they were flinging poo at each other."_

_Marti giggled, "He-he, poo." _

"_They were going crazy making all kinds of noises and throwing you know what everywhere", Edwin laughed._

"_Yeah", Lizzie broke in, to tell the rest of the story when it became apparent that Edwin wasn't capable of speech. "They were like randomly fighting for like five minutes, then all the sudden they stopped and started playing with each other. We were getting ready to go look at something else when they started picking bugs off each other then eating them."_

"_Awesome", Derek said, at the same time Casey mumbled, "Ewww, gross!"_

_Louder than before, Casey wondered aloud, "What do monkeys have in common with Derek and me?"_

_Edwin was still wheezing when Lizzie gave her sister a cautious look, "Well, basically, you two are fighting all the time and don't usually have a great reason."_

"_That's not true", Casey stated indignantly, "we have perfectly good reasons."_

_Lizzie rolled her eyes before continuing,"And after you two have a huge fight, you are usually a lot nicer to each other."_

_Casey glanced at Derek, he had finally caught her eye, and they shared a look. "And", Derek said, "What's your point?"_

_Lizzie let out a sigh of frustration, __**they were so dense. **__"Because, no matter no matter how often you guys throw crap at each other, inevitably you always end up helping each other out when the other needs it. So tell me", Lizzie finished bitingly, "What did you two do alone all day?" _

_Derek was about to open his mouth and lay into everyone for keeping secrets from him, when Casey gave him a sharp kick in the shin before stating calmly, "Derek made me go with him to go hang out with Sam at the high school for a while. It was boring."_

_**What was she playing at**__, he wondered silently as he still felt the throbbing pain in his shin. __**He would make her pay for that later**__._

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to confront Casey, Derek grabbed the plate holding his giant sandwich and a large pile of chips along with his can of soda, and headed upstairs.

--

Derek had been leaning on the doorframe of Casey's open bedroom door for a few minutes unnoticed. She had six large photo albums spread across her bed haphazardly, each of them opened to no place in particular. She was sitting on the bed; legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, leaning against a few pillows that were propped up against the headboard.

She had her laptop open and setting on her thighs, staring at it intently, then clicking, and maybe some more clicking before searching through various photo albums, that were no doubt organized, only to start the process all over again.

"Whatcha doing, Casey?" he asked, once it was obvious she wouldn't be distracted.

Casey looked up from her laptop, brushing her long hair back over her shoulder with one hand. "Hey, Derek", she said, picking up _another _album. It was then that he got a good look at her outfit. _She looked way too good to be staying home, _he thought. But that was just his personal opinion. Her tight red spaghetti strap tank top came to rest just above her hipbones, leaving a few inches of her tan skin visible before it was covered by her somewhat bohemian looking black skirt that landed just a few inches above her knees at the highest point on the right side, as the left side was angled to a longer length and came to her upper calf.

"My mom wanted me to check and make sure she had copies of all the vacation pictures from last summer", she replied distractedly.

Derek took a giant bite out of his sandwich before replying a few minutes later, "Please tell me we don't have _six _albums full of pictures just from Mexico."

Casey grimaced, "No", she said, "but I none of these _four years _of pictures were in any kind of order. And I couldn't search through them effectively in order to determine which picture were left out and it would have taken forever", she took a deep breath, flushing slightly in exasperation, "so I have finally finished taking them all out and separating them and-" Derek finally cut her out before she could pass out from lack of oxygen. _Didn't she need to breathe?_

He held a hand up to make her shut up. He took a moment to be surprised before saying, "So you reorganized the pictures and have all the vacation pictures in one album", he stated, looking at her pointedly.

She rolled her eyes with a huff of annoyance, "That's what I just said."

He raised an eyebrow as he walked slowly to the bed and plopped down in the extra space next to her, still eating her sandwich. "Yeah, except your explanation took ten minutes, and you hadn't even _gotten _to the point yet when your face started turning red from lack of air."

She chose not to say anything, instead glaring at the plate that was balanced precariously on his knee. He just waved his napkin in her face in reply, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

"Gross, Derek", she whined. "Can't you eat like a person?"

"Nope", he said.

Casey just groaned and ignored him as she went back to looking through pictures on her computer. After a few minutes of silence, besides Derek's crunching, he set his empty plate on the side table and leaned back against the pillows with a sigh of contentment… well, besides that strange nagging feeling.

He looked over at Casey after a few moments, realizing she had stopped what she doing and was more or less staring into space. He stared at her with a raised eyebrow, then looked down at her lit up screen. He didn't see anything unusual in the visible three rows of pictures, although the one on the bottom left caught his eye.

It was a picture of just the two of them while the family had visited in Mexico City. Behind them was the Constitution Square and the Metropolitan Cathedral. And while the building itself was indeed breathtaking, even for someone who didn't study architecture, it was the people in front of the building that your eyes were immediately directed to.

Derek remembered that day. He and Casey had formed some sort of a truce over the summer knowing it might make things easier on the family once they left. The family had spent the day free of tour guides, wanting to explore on their own, and had come across several flea markets and some of the main tourist attractions. And even though someone had thought it would be a good idea for _George _to have the map, they had only gotten lost twice.

On the way back to the hotel they were staying at, Nora and George convinced them to take the long way through the middle of the city instead of the more empty back roads. It was only a few hours until sunset when they passed the Square. The light had been perfect and Casey had insisted on taking a family picture, courtesy of some random Mexican women, who was thankfully able to use a camera.

Once the picture had been taken, Derek had reached over Lizzie's and Edwin's heads to thoroughly mess up Casey's hair. She had let out a screech that had most likely scared off any natives as she chased after him. After a few minutes of running, Derek had turned around just in time to see Casey launch herself at him. And really, what else could he have done _besides catch her _when she flung herself into the air.

It was obvious that Edwin had had the camera; no one else would have been able to take such a candid shot. Derek had his arms around Casey's waist holding her against him, her feet in the air, as her hands were on his head in a futile attempt to further mess up his hair. The lingering birds – Marti had called them Spanish pigeons – had taken flight as the picture was taken, probably afraid of the shrieking.

Derek would need to have a word with his brother as to why this picture had been hidden from him. Not that he didn't know why. They looked incredibly happy in that picture. Like no one else existed. And if Derek was honest with himself, that kind of thing happened between him and Casey way more often than it should.

He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. Casey was still staring into space, it was slightly disconcerting. Casey wasn't the type of person to sit idly when things needed to be done, even when she didn't want to do them. He nudged her with his elbow.

Casey blinked several times before glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "What?" she asked.

Derek raised an eyebrow at her, "Just wondering where you went. Did you visit Casey-land?"

She looked at him quizzically, "Do you ever make sense when you talk?" she wondered.

"You've been staring into space for like ten minutes, Case", he said calmly.

"I was just thinking", she muttered, staring down at the computer still resting on her legs.

He stared at her intently for a moment, noting the tenseness of her face and the worry lines on her forehead. His eyes narrowed, "What's wrong with you?" he asked suspiciously.

She looked at him, finally, momentarily startled. She let out an annoyed sigh of frustration, that for once was _not _directed at Derek. "I got into a fight with my mom this morning. It wasn't pretty. I'm fairly certain that she is thinking of different ways to kill me and make it look like an accident."

Derek snorted, and Casey glared at him, "Sorry, but you and Nora don't fight, like _ever_."

"Yeah, well, lucky me, I can blame this on you", she murmured.

"What the hell did I do?" he asked incredulously.

"Never mind", she said quietly, "Just drop it."

Casey went back to scrolling through pictures on her computer, not really doing anything but looking at them. They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Derek nudged her arm with his elbow, _again_.

"Now what?" she asked, slightly annoyed that he was still there.

"Casey", he said seriously, "we have to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or Deal or No Deal, or Derek's car, or Casey's purse… now I'm sad. LOL.

**A/N: **Enjoy the flashback and the Derek/Casey physical fight. I enjoyed coming up with this chapter. Thank you for all the reviews so far. Let me know what you think of this chapter.

--

_**Flashback**_: _Casey went back to scrolling through pictures on her computer, not really doing anything but looking at them. They sat in silence for about ten minutes before Derek nudged her arm with his elbow, again._

"_Now what?" she asked, slightly annoyed that he was still there._

"_Casey", he said seriously, "we have to talk."_

--

**Chapter 5**

_**Casey's POV **_

"Oh yeah", she said nonchalantly, "about what?"

She could see him roll his eyes at her in her peripheral vision. "So, you think we don't have anything to talk about?" he asked her sarcastically, "Because I've got a bruise that says otherwise."

She turned to look at him fully, barely concealing a wince as she saw the hard look he was giving her, "Alright", she sighed, "What do you want to talk about?"

Derek watches her silently for a moment; it's slightly unnerving, before he says, "Let's go somewhere."

Casey lets out a quiet laugh, "Umm, where? And why?"

"Because", he said, "This house is going to be empty for another three hours at least, and if I have to be subjected to a serious conversation with _you_, I'd rather not be _here_."

Casey raised a hand in defense, "If I remember correctly, _Derek_, you were the one insisting on a conversation. I just happen to agree with you for once. _Probably not for the same reason, but fine_", she was all but growling at him. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she questioned, "So, where are we going, genius?"

Derek had got up from his seat next to her when she had launched into her Casey-freak out, probably to avoid her hitting him. He ran a hand through his unruly hair, "You wanna go to the park?"

Casey thought for a minute, before a slow grin crossed her face, "Let's go", she said.

--

_Flashback:_

_August 27, 2010_

_Dinner had ended three hours ago, and now it was 10:30. Casey felt a feeling of foreboding in the pit of her stomach as she thought about having to leave tomorrow. She was excited to go to New York. No, really, she was. At least that's what she kept trying to tell herself. She wasn't convinced._

_Casey had finished going over her extensive lists for the fifth time an hour ago. And she had looked through her room for the third time, making sure she hadn't forgotten to pack anything that was on her lists. _

_She had packed her car that morning except for the bag of things that she would need in tonight and tomorrow morning. She flopped on her bed trying not to think about the fact that she would not be able to sleep in this bed, on these sheets, pillows, and blankets for at least another three months. Her mom and George had bought her a new comforter and a set of sheets and several pillows to be used in her dorm room. The only comforting thought was that her room would look exactly the same when she came back for Thanksgiving and Christmas break._

_She brought an extra pillow over her face and started mumbling into it about how she hated her life, when she heard a knock on her door. Figuring it would be her mom or possibly Lizzie, she yelled a muffled, "Come in", from underneath her pillow. _

_She heard a familiar laugh from her doorway and groaned. Of __**course**__it was him. "You waited until the night before leaving for college to decide to off yourself? That doesn't seem very practical."_

_Casey moved the pillow off of her face slightly, just enough to mutter pathetically, "Why not? I don't have anything else to do." _

"_Ah", he said, "so you've exhausted all your lists and you figure now would be a great time to kill yourself, huh?"_

"_Yup", she said simply._

"_Great", he said, grinning at her oddly._

"_Hey!" she said indignantly._

_He laughed, "That's not what I meant, you nerd. Since you have nothing else to do, you're coming with me."_

"_No", she pouted childishly._

_He rolled his eyes in amusement, "You don't even know where we're going."_

_Casey looked at Derek warily, "Where are we going", she looked at her alarm clock with widened eyes, "at 9:47 at night? Derek I need to go to sleep, not go traipsing off into the darkness. And what about Mom and George? They aren't just going to let us leave and end up who knows where."_

"_Casey, you've got to be the only girl I know that would make excuses as to why she shouldn't sneak out of the house to hang out with __**me**__. I mean look at me, I'm awesome", Derek stated cockily._

_Casey just raised her eyebrows, seemingly unfazed, "That has got to be your most unconvincing argument ever", she said._

_He sighed and tilted his head to look at her determinedly, "Alright, convincing argument number one: you don't have any more… __**anything**__ to do. Number two: we both know that you are too, ummm, tense?, to be able to sleep right now. And you will be driving yourself crazy for at least another two hours before you calm down enough to even think about sleeping. Right?" he stopped to look at her challengingly. _

_Casey sat up on her bed to glower at him, "Maybe. But does it really benefit me to have __**you**__ driving me crazy instead of just slowly torturing myself to sleep?"_

_He smirked at her. "You're gonna have to decide that one for yourself, babe."_

"_And Mom and George?" she asked, pointedly ignoring his unnecessary misnomer that he had recently deemed appropriate for their relationship. She had given up on telling him not to call her that._

"_They have already agreed to my plan and think you should get out of the house for a couple hours so you don't stay up here pacing and pulling your hair out for the rest of the night", he said calmly, "And they know where we're going so if they can't find you in the morning, they'll know where to find the body."_

"_Der-ek!" she shrieked and hurled a pillow at him, which he caught._

"_For some reason they seem to think you'd be better off with me than by yourself", he rolled his eyes. "I really don't understand that, but whatever."_

"_Last ditch effort at 'family bonding' most likely", she said with a shudder._

"_C'mon, Case", he said folding his arms over his chest, "You're going whether you want to or not. I have permission from the parentals to use any force necessary."_

"_Oh, that's comforting. You don't sound like a serial killer at all", she said sarcastically._

"_Casey", he said seriously, "you know you want to."_

_She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling, "I know no such thing", she said stubbornly._

_He walked over to her bed in a manner that probably would have been intimidating to anyone else, "Don't make me carry you again", he said, making her flush._

_She studied him for a minute before deciding – well, she had decided ten minutes ago – but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being agreeable from the get-go._

_She stood up, not liking how he towered over her, "Where are we going?" she asked curiously._

"_Get your shoes", he said, not answering her. "Hurry up, I'll meet you downstairs."_

_--_

_Casey slid on a pair of old tennis shoes and headed downstairs less reluctantly than one would think. She went into the kitchen and pulled out a water bottle from the refrigerator and taking a seat at the island across from where George and Nora were sitting drinking coffee. "That's decaf, right, Mom?" Casey asked chastisingly. _

_Before anyone could answer her Derek appeared in the kitchen, "Come on, Casey. You don't need to play mommy. Let's go." _

_She caught a jacket that he tossed at her, looking at it closely. "Derek, I packed this in my car this morning", she said confused._

_He looked at her sheepishly, scratching at the back of his head, "Yeah, I might have snatched it when you weren't looking."_

_Casey quirked an eyebrow at him, but chose not to say anything in front of their watchful parents as she got up and followed him towards the front door._

"_Have fun guys", Nora said, standing with George at the entrance to the kitchen._

"_Don't worry, Nora. I'll bring Casey back in one piece", Derek said in a faux comforting tone._

"_You'd better", Casey muttered from behind him. He just tossed a grin at her from over his shoulder._

"_Don't be later than 12:30, Derek", George said somewhat sternly._

"_Sure, Dad", he said. "Like Casey would really let us be out that late anyway."_

"_We'll back later", Derek said, pulling Casey out the door with him and slamming it behind them._

_--_

_The Prince had finally bit the dust about six months ago, and after much argument, seeing as George and Nora had agreed to put a down-payment on a car for Casey's birthday, they had decided that it was only fair that if Derek found a car in his price range, that they would give him half the money for a down-payment on __**his**__ car. _

_So after a few months of searching, he had found the perfect car. Now he and Casey were cruising down the street in his Camaro. Trust me; everyone was surprised that he had managed that. _

"_Derek!" Casey complained, "Do you have a destination in mind or are we just driving into nowhere?"_

"_We'll be there in a few minutes, Case, chillz", Derek said._

"_Humph", Casey muttered under her breath, annoyed._

_Roughly five minutes later Derek pulled into the now empty parking lot adjacent to the local park. _

_Casey gave Derek a look, "Are you crazy? Only serial killers come to the park at night!"_

_He quirked an amused eyebrow at her, "I vaguely recall that you accused me of __**being**__ a serial killer less than an hour ago. So, I thought it was more than appropriate."_

_She rolled her eyes at his 'Derek-logic' but didn't have time to give a proper rebuttal seeing as he was no longer in the car. He peered at her from the outside of the open car door, "C'mon, Spacey. I'll protect you from all the mass murderers running amuck in London, Ontario", he chuckled._

_She sighed, "Oh, fine", and got out of the car herself, and followed him down the cement sidewalk._

_--_

_They had, for some reason ended up at the large swing-set. They had been sitting in silence for some time, the only noise coming from the creaking chains of the swings as they glided back and forth, before Casey broke the quiet. "Not that I'm not enjoying the quiet, because I totally am, but what are we doing out here, Derek?"_

_Derek smirked at her, "And here I thought you were the smart one, Case. This", he said, motioning with his hand, "is a swing."_

_She gave him a half-hearted glare, "Funny. Really", she said dryly._

_He sighed, a somewhat serious look on his face, "And here I thought that you would be the one insisting we hung out together before we left home and moved to different sides of the United States", he gave her a wry look._

_Casey turned her head to tease him, but changed her mind when she saw he was serious. "Gonna miss me, Venturi?" she asked softly._

_Derek got a panicked look on his face, "Oh, no… of course not." He was back-pedaling so fast she was sure he would fall on his head. "I guess, I might sort of…you know, be used to you…or something", he finished unconvincingly._

_Casey giggled, she couldn't help it. His unexpected niceness struck something in her, and she felt the undeniable need to be honest…slightly. He was glaring at her for laughing. "Sorry", she murmured. "I might kind of be used to you too, you know", she said._

_They had forged some kind of odd friendship over the last year. Neither would admit it unless they were backed into a corner, but it was there. Somewhere along the line, Derek's ass-ocity towards her had turned into a watchful protectiveness – that was also denied. And after tolerating years of pranks, Casey had finally seen the scenario for what it was, and no longer got so angry with him, along with giving herself the privilege of not being so uptight._

_Their new-found 'whatever-it-was' made their living situation much less stressful for everyone at home. Now the main thing Casey had to worry about was her ever growing infatuation for everything Derek. She should have known better. Somewhere in the subconscious of her mind, she knew it was bound to happen if they got too close, but she let it happen anyhow. And while outwardly she seemed mostly calm, her internal anxiety had increased ten-fold. _

_Now, with their separation eminent, Casey felt loneliness creeping up on her. She would miss him terribly, even though she knew some space would do her some good. Maybe she could get herself together enough while she was gone so that when the time came to visit, the pain of being inadvertently rejected will have reduced to a dull ache._

"_Is it too late to decide to live at home forever?" Casey wondered aloud, looking away from Derek._

_They had stopped their movement on the swings a while ago, now content to just sit. Casey had kicked off her shoes and socks, contentedly burying her feet in the spot of cool sand under her swing._

_She heard him sigh from behind her, and knew without him saying so, that he was nervous as well. She turned to look at him when she felt him gently bump into her as he swung sideways. "What?" she asked as she looked at him._

"_You're freaking out", Derek said, quietly. It wasn't a question. But he didn't sound like he was judging her either._

_Casey groaned, "Totally freaking out", she agreed, dejectedly. "But you knew that before you even came into my room earlier", she accused knowingly._

_He didn't deny it, lying would be useless at this point. "You'll be great, Case", he said softly. "No matter what happens, you'll be able to handle it."_

_She smiled at him gratefully, "Thanks, Derek", she said. _

_After a few minutes of quiet, Casey spoke again, "I probably should have said this a while ago, but I am really proud of you, Der. I think you'll do great in college, too. And I'll probably miss you way more than I would have ever thought", she said, giving him a slight glare before adding, "And if you tell anyone I said that, I will totally deny it."_

_Derek smirked at her admission before saying, "Well, my ass hurts. Let's go down to the lake", and standing up._

"_Der-ek!" Casey screeched, interrupting the stillness of the night as she also stood up to follow him. "Of course you __**would**__ have to ruin a perfectly good moment even when no one else can see! I should know better but-" _

_Her speech was interrupted as he reached a hand out to grab her upper arm to pull her tightly against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "This did not happen", he murmured into her hair._

_When he felt her nod, he continued, "I'll miss you too, you dummy."_

"_Good", she mumbled into his chest as she felt him drop a kiss to the top of her head._

_He chuckled as he unwrapped her arms from him gently, "Come on, I wanna go see the lake before we leave."_

"_Fine", Casey said, "but you'd better not push me in", she said sternly._

"_I make no promises", Derek replied jokingly._

"_Derek!" Casey whined, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her down the path with him. _

--

Casey got off the bed and opened her closet as Derek walked out of the room, calling, "My car. Ten minutes."

She pulled out a pair of black flip flops and slid them onto her feet, "No way! I'm not getting in a car that you're driving, Derek. We're taking my car."

"I don't think so, Princess", Derek said.

Casey spun around, hearing him in her doorway. He was leaning against her wall watching her as he absently twirled his keys around his left pointer finger. "Derek, do I need to remind you that I was the one who got their license on the first try? I'm the better driver."

Derek glared at her. "That was three and a half _years _ago, Casey. My driving skills have vastly improved since then."

"And your vocabulary", she muttered. She growled at him when she looked up to see him smirking at her, "What?" she asked, exasperated, picking up her black leather _Kate Spade _handbag.

"I was just thinking", he started innocently, as her eyes narrowed, "that it will be sort of difficult for you to drive when I'm parked behind you."

Casey slung her purse over her left shoulder and propped her left hand on her hip, "Sure, Venturi, whatever." She pushed her way past him out of her room, and he followed her down the stairs and out the front door, stopping only to lock the door behind him.

When he turned back around, he nearly plowed into Casey as she stood on the edge of the porch staring at Derek's car, which was indeed parked behind hers, a_nd most definitely __**not **__where it had been yesterday. _Casey whirled around viciously, poking Derek in the chest as she spoke, "When _poke_ did _poke_ you _poke_ do _poke_ that?" she asked, pointing in the direction of the driveway. "_How_ did you do that?"

Casey started fumbling through her purse, "Der-ek! Where are my _keys_?"

She looked up to see Derek holding her keys in his hand just out of reach over her head. "_You went through my __**purse**__?!_" she growled at him, punching him in his muscular chest.

"Yes", he said darkly, "and I'd rather not talk about what was in there".

She glared at him, startled by the thought, before invading his personal space, and brushing herself up against his body as she attempted to jump high enough to grab the keys he was dangling over her head. When she jumped at him for the third time, his free arm wrapped around her waist in an effort to make her stop attacking him, "When did you get so damn violent?" Derek gritted out between clenched teeth as she struggled against him.

"Since I've had to live with you", she growled in his ear. She tugged at his hair, "Put me down, Jackass."

His grip on her tightened slightly, "I'll put you down if you promise to stop attacking me."

"Der-ek, give me my keys!" she whined.

"I wasn't done", he said. "You stop physically assaulting me, a go get into the _passenger seat _of _my _car like a calm person, and I will give you _your _keys when we come back, _comprende_, sister?"

She huffed, "Step-sister".

"So", Derek started, using a game show host voice, "Deal or No Deal?"

"Fine", Casey bit out, "but only because I can't breathe."

Derek cautiously slid Casey's keys into his pocket before gently setting her on the ground. He laughed as she glared at him. _To think that other people called Casey mild-mannered. Yeah, right. Compared to a rhinoceros maybe, and even that was debatable._ "Let's go, Spacey", he said, turning her around and sliding his arm around her shoulder, guiding her to his car.

He ignored the pitiful look she gave her trapped car as they passed it, and led her to the passenger side of his black two-door 2010 Chevy Camaro. He hit the remote to unlock the doors and opened Casey's door for her. She gave him a quizzical look, and he just said, "Didn't want you running away". He shut her door before walking around the front and sliding into the driver's seat of his car.

The car roared to life as he turned the key, Casey jumped at the loud noise blaring through the speakers. Derek chuckled as he turned down the volume as he backed out of the driveway.

Casey pulled on her seatbelt and sat silently for a few minutes before looking at her step-brother incredulously.

"What?" he asked, after he realized she was staring at him.

She giggled, not being able to help herself, "_The Postal Service_, Derek, really?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Yeah, so?"

She bit her bottom lip, "Nothing, just surprised I guess."

"Oh, God, the world is going to explode because we both like the same band, isn't it?" Derek questioned in a feigned panic.

Casey smirked, "Quite possibly."

Derek played with a few buttons, before scrolling through the songs to find what he knew was one of their favorite songs, _We Will Become Silhouettes_.

"I love this song", Casey murmured softly as she stared out the window.

"Yeah, me too", he said.

The rest of the drive was silent until the pulled into the public parking lot across from the local park/playground.

--

**A/N:** Alright, no tomatoes, guys. The talk would have been too long for this chapter, and I really needed the flashback. It will be in the beginning of the next chapter, I promise. I'm looking forward to writing it. I have it pretty much planned so I should be updating it fairly soon. Maybe Monday, or Wednesday at the latest. Review, please. I wanna know what you think. Is the suspense killing you? Review, review, review. And hopefully the long chapter will make up for the wait. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or…Anything. *cries in the corner*

**A/N: **Finally what you've all been waiting for. Now you'll have some idea about what has been going on in the wacky family. ENJOY! Thank you for all the reviews so far. Let me know what you think of this chapter. And go check out the links for chapter five, if you haven't already. **And I may have implemented use of… language… during their argument. So be warned. **And I had to make Casey a little introspective in this chapter. It should help things make more sense and tie the past, present, and future together. I am trying to keep her as in character as possible, and I think she probably would have felt this way, all things considered. Let me know what you think.

--

_Flashback_: _The rest of the drive was silent until the pulled into the public parking lot across from the local park/playground. _

--

**Chapter 6**

_Casey's POV_

The park hadn't changed much since the last time they were here, you know except for the whole _now it's not dark_ thing. Casey followed Derek out of the car reluctantly and they walked down the path to the hill that overlooked the lake.

Casey plopped down about half-way down the hill, leaning back on her elbows, and looking straight ahead, ignoring Derek's quizzical look as he joined her.

There was _no way_ she would give him the opportunity to push her into the lake – again. Her sunglasses were _Gucci _for God's sake. And she highly doubted Derek would retrieve them if they _happened_ to end up at the bottom of the murky pond.

A side-glance at Derek told her that he would be content with the silence for a little while as she tried to decide how to broach the subject. There was literally no way to explain this without inadvertently sounding like a Derek stalker _groupie_. She groaned internally, _she was so screwed._

Maybe if they sat in silence long enough, everything that needed to be said, would be transferred to him through osmosis if she thought about it long enough. _But no_. She still was looking for something, _anything_, to make this inevitable conversation less awkward and painful.

Her secrets had been buried for years, and she wasn't ready to dig up the skeletons of the past. It felt like a jackhammer was pounding against her ribcage, in effort to loosen the debris. It wasn't. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute; surely it would explode out of her chest.

She tried to inhale enough oxygen to calm herself without alerting _him_ to her oncoming panic attack. Was there a paper bag in his glove compartment? Probably not.

_Calm the fuck down_, she ordered herself. _You are over him. You have had a year of no Derek contact to get yourself together. Use it to your advantage. Wait a minute… _Casey's thoughts stopped abruptly and she shot Derek a side-glare. _Sure we weren't best friends or anything, and it's not like I thought we_ _would call and talk to each other, but she thought for sure he would at least send her annoying junk mail or something_, _**anything**__. Oh, now she was pissed. Now we can talk_, she thought grimly.

Casey let out an aggravated breath and turned to face Derek. He turned to look at her when he heard her sigh, becoming startled at the look on her face. He raised an eyebrow warily, "Now, what could I have possibly done in the last ten minutes, sitting here _in silence_, which could have made you want to burn the flesh off my face?"

Her eyebrows furrowed, lessening her glare, before she smoothed her features, controlling the anger she felt boiling in her stomach. She had other things to take care of at the moment. "What do you want, Derek?" she sighed tiredly, "What could you possibly think we needed to talk about now?"

This time _his_ eyebrows furrowed, "What in the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, exasperated by her loopy behavior.

"_ME_?!" she cried out in frustration. "There's nothing wrong with me", she started indignantly.

"Oh, of course not", Derek returned sarcastically, "I forgot your random mood swings are _normal_! And not to mention all your confusing double-talk."

Without warning Casey swung an arm out and punched Derek in the shoulder. _Hard._ "Shut the fuck up Derek, you don't know anything", she growled.

"_Goddammit, Casey!" _he exclaimed. "You think I don't know that? Do you really think I _like _the fact that I have _no fucking clue_ about anything having to do with you?"

"Yeah, and whose fault is that I wonder", Casey pondered sarcastically, ignoring the anger in his voice.

They sat in silence before Derek's jaw tightened. His voice was still tinged with anger and frustration, but now it was quiet. "Alright, I know we were never close or anything-"

Casey snorted. _That was an understatement._

He continued as if he hadn't heard her, "but we _did_ sort of have this weird…" he trailed off, not sure how to explain. Casey sat in silence. She could wait it out _way_ longer than him, and they both knew it.

After a few minutes, Derek let out an exasperated breath, growling out, "Sure, maybe I didn't call you or anything, but I'm pretty sure that phone lines work both ways".

As Casey struggled not to be affected by his words, which she had to admit were true, an odd thought began forming itself in her brain. She was unintentionally ignoring him now, a far away look in her eyes, as she _remembered. _Remembered all the times they had interacted. After the first few months of moving in with the Venturi's, Casey had given up on forcing togetherness between her and Derek. He had clearly not wanted her in his house at all, much less in the same room, _ever_. So she had decided that she would ignore him. And _that's_ when it had started.

It had been a few months after she had made her decision before he had made the first move. Granted, his first move had been cutting the toes off of one of her pairs of slippers, but still. And that's how it went. Anytime they had any non-parentally forced interaction, he started it. He pranked her, she retaliated. He needed her help, unwillingly, he asked her – and then she made sure she made him _grovel_, because it barely happened that The Derek Venturi needed her help.

And the times when he _offered_ to help her, happened even less. And he still made her grovel – retaliation, she figured. Like the time he tried to help her lie to get an extension on her homework. She almost snickered at the memory. Of course it blew up in their faces, and Casey had gotten _slobbered on_, but it was probably one of the first times they both worked together willingly.

Casey had never really thought about the ramifications of this little quirk in their relationship, but she realized now, it probably wasn't very beneficial to their… whatever _this_ was. Even though she knew why it started, she figured he didn't, and that wasn't fair. Not that she would explain this little problem _today_, they had enough to deal with for now.

She sighed internally, finally letting go. Things had changed between them a long time ago. It wasn't fair for her to be holding things against him that he would have apologized for _years ago_ if he had known he had hurt her so badly. Casey had had her fair share of rejection issues when she was fifteen, an absent father, and a mother that worked fulltime, and then remarried into another family, taking both of her daughters with her, were enough to wear a person down.

She hadn't exactly been happy about moving, and that was putting it mildly, but she had wanted her mom to be happy. It had taken some time to adjust to having more than just one sister, and a wacky family that acted like they had all busted loose from the zoo, but she had still felt loved by Nora and Lizzie. And she liked George, with all his eccentricities; he clearly loved her mother, and had accepted them into his family.

Lizzie had befriended Edwin almost immediately, and she had no personal problems with her younger step-brother except for the fact that he listened to Derek, so that she could handle. Marti, well, at six, she had been… scary. She was raised in a house with all boys, and hadn't quite learned to act like a little girl. But Casey had always love children, and had appreciated the girl's imaginative games, even if it _had_ led to Casey losing her perfumes to _potions_. And she had grown to love her as her own sister.

Derek. He was a completely different story. Lord knows, she didn't see him as a brother. Even now, the thought made her choke a little. When they had first met, he had tried to stay away from her as much as possible. She hadn't been happy with the situation either, so she could sympathize, but she was trying to make the best of what she had deemed a bad situation. He had rebuffed all her efforts to be friendly. Instead of making any kind of normal conversation, he had goaded her with sarcastic comments. Never one to back down, she had retaliated.

It would have been different if he had been that way towards Nora and Lizzie as well, but after a short time, it became apparent that it was just her. Her insecurities, fear of change, and rejection issues, were rolled into a huge ball that was named Derek Venturi. And the ball was trying to squash her at every opportunity. So, no. She had decided not to put herself in a position of being vulnerable emotionally with him, seeing as all of her possessions seemed to be fair game.

So she had let him come to her. And that was how it went. Even when the game had changed, the rules hadn't. Not really. Even during their last year at home, when all their fighting had finally simmered down to something manageable, and they had – sort of – become friends, when no one was looking. Sure they fought like crazy, but he had become one of the things she had depended on. Inexplicably, she had begun to trust him. And somewhere along the line, without knowing how it happened, she had given him her heart. And the pathetic thing was, he didn't even realize it.

He had so much control over her emotions, _her everything_, she knew she couldn't have bared it if he had rejected her efforts to maintain their… _whatever_ – again – after they had left for college. It would have crushed her. So she had waited, and waited. Waited for him to make the first move, like he always did. But he didn't.

It had taken her three months to realize he wasn't going to contact her. And when she did, she broke. Broken, like a china plate dropped down a flight of stairs, broken. Her roommate and now best friend, Sheri, had come back to the dorm to find the remnants of a half gallon of _Phish Food_ ice cream, mostly empty, setting on the floor, and a trail of shredded tissues that led to the bed which had held a crying ball of Casey, wrapped in blankets and _more_ tissues. Four hours and two water bottles later – because Sheri had insisted the Casey had to have been dehydrated – the whole story came out.

The outcome had been unexpected, to say the least. Casey had turned herself into someone that was nothing like what Derek had always told her she was. She got good grades, yes, but she also took plenty of time to have fun. Something she had never done in high school. Her clothes, even though they had changed when she had dated Max, had become even _less _conservative. She wasn't afraid of showing skin. She didn't dress like a slut, but no one had ever called College Casey a prude.

"Casey!" Derek's voice brought her out of her thoughts abruptly.

"What?" she asked, her voice slightly hoarse as she attempted to control her emotions.

He studied her inquisitively, "Are you okay? You've been spaced out for a while…"

She sighed, "I, I'm alright", she muttered, annoyed that she had let her thoughts get so far.

"O-okay", Derek said, somewhat questionably. "So", he started.

Casey cut him off, instead of letting him continue with whatever he was going to say. She cleared her throat and turned to face him slightly. "You remember earlier, when I told you I got into a fight with my mom this morning?" she questioned softly.

He eyed her for a moment before nodding slightly for her to continue. "But what does that have to do with-"

"Shush, Derek", Casey said calmly, "I have to explain this first because it'll make everything else make sense, sort of."

"Ok", he said, still confused, "Continue."

"Gee, thanks", she said sarcastically. "Ummm, oh, right, this will be better. Remember Mom and George's second anniversary?"

Derek smirked, "The Mexican Fiasco? Hell yeah."

Casey rolled her eyes, abandoning her train of thought for a moment. "I can't believe they made us tell everyone about 'Operation Disengagement'. That was so embarrassing."

"Yeah, I guess if I had had your hair cut back then, I would have been embarrassed to relive it too", he said jokingly.

"Derek!" Casey said, annoyed, though she was laughing a little bit. "Shut up!"

"Sorry", he said, still chuckling.

"Ok, getting back to my point, now that we're done taking a trip down memory lane on the crazy train. More specifically, do _you_ remember what we found out at dinner?"

"That George definitely cannot cook Mexican food?" he asked in a serious tone.

Casey let out a giggle, "Oh, c'mon. It wasn't that surprising." She sighed, "No", she said seriously. "When Lizzie let it slip that Mom and George waited until the last minute for us to meet."

Derek's eyes narrowed slightly. He really couldn't believe they had done that. And he had been equally surprised that Casey had been so upset about it when she had heard. Her voice had sounded shocked, but she had been sad for some reason… "Yeah, I remember", he muttered.

Casey sighed, "Well, a few weeks later I confronted my mom about it. I – she… shit", Casey muttered.

Derek raised his eyebrows. Casey wasn't usually so inarticulate. "Case-"

"No, just – give me a minute." Casey stood up and walked carefully down the hill towards the lake. _Now would not be a good time to trip. _

She could feel Derek watching her as she left, but kept going until she reached the water's edge. She crossed her arms protectively over her stomach, ignoring the fact that her heart was hammering in her chest.

Casey had been berating herself for several moments for acting so childish – _running away? Oh, god. She was turning into one of __**those**__ girls _– when she heard Derek come up behind her, standing several feet away.

She held her breath in anticipation, waiting for him to speak, when he grabbed her upper arm, gently but firmly, turning her to face him.

When she finally mustered the courage to make a cautious glance up at his face, her heart nearly shattered. She didn't want him looking at her like _that_. The mixture of amused annoyance barely concealing the concern underneath was too much. Had he not been holding onto her, she surely would have run. But, instead, she looked down to take a great interest in her toes, suddenly glad for her pedicure.

"_Casey._" Derek gripped both her shoulders, jostling her slightly, trying to gain her attention.

When Casey looked up, she realized that he was standing too close for her liking. She attempted to take a step back, only to have herself being pulled even closer against Derek's chest. "Derek?" she whispered, looking at him questioningly.

"Tell me", he said, looking down at her. "Tell me what's going on with you. I'm not sure whether I should be worried or go find you a strait-jacket."

She gave him a wry smile, "You might decide to do both."

He raised an eyebrow at her, saying, "Ya know, I'm fairly fluent in Casey-speak, but I can't translate if _Casey doesn't speak_." He gave her a pointed look, "What is it?"

Casey knew he had a point. She _had _to tell him. "I'm afraid of saying this wrong Derek. If I don't tell you the right way…" She trailed off before taking a breath, "This is going to open a can of worms, and I'm afraid of the end result."

"Just say it, Case", Derek said.

"I don't want you to hate me", she whispered, looking away.

Casey heard him sigh before he used a finger to turn her face back to him, "You are such a drama queen", he said, his tone was surprisingly affectionate, "Like I could ever actually hate you."

"Okay", she said, taking a deep breath. _She could do this dammit._ She didn't look at him when she finally blurted out, "On the way home from Smelly Nelly's – you know, the day they broke up and got _re-engaged _– my mom told me not to tell you I could skate. When I asked her why, she only said, 'just don't', and told me to drop it. And, considering how crazy the day had been, I didn't bring it up again."

She chanced a look at Derek. His arms were folded across his chest as he stood unmoving. His narrowed eyes told her that he was deep in thought.

"Casey", he finally said, "What-"

She interrupted him, wanting to get it over with, "There's more. Do you want to hear the rest?"

She took the look on his face to mean 'yes' and continued carefully, "Well a few weeks after the 'Mexican Fiasco, I confronted her again. I was pretty pissed off at her, you know. I wanted answers, so I made her tell me. She said that yes, they had worried about us meeting – figuring that we would hate each other. But after we finally met, and she saw us together, she was worried for a different reason. She thought we would end up liking each other." Casey watched Derek carefully, trying to read his expression.

"So?" he asked after a moment.

Casey's eyes widened, "I – wait, what? What do you mean, 'so'?"

"Oh, c'mon, Case", Derek laughed, it's not like they didn't spend the next three and a half years trying to make us get along!"

Casey's eyebrows went up. _Was he really that dense?_ She groaned, exasperated at having to say more. "No, you idiot", she muttered, "She thought we would end up _dating_!"

Derek's jaw slackened in shock, "Oh."

--

**A/N:** Well that's chapter six. Enjoy!!! And review, review, review. I'm about a third of the way done writing chapter seven. It should be posted by Wednesday… or Friday at the latest. Now I have to go straighten my hair and get ready to leave. Aren't you all glad I decided to update before I went traipsing off for the weekend? I know I am. Let me know what you think, it makes me update faster! (And I am _thrilled_ with chapter seven so far. It's Dasey, Dasey, and more Dasey!!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or…Anything. *cries in the corner*

**A/N: **Ok, I know you're all excited. He-he. Ok, **Warning: **This chapter contains so much Dasey cuteness your squeals may break the sound barrier… headphones on? Ok, proceed with excitement… I mean caution. (I'm really bad at warnings, lol.)

--

_Flashback:_ _"So?" he asked after a moment._

_Casey's eyes widened, "I – wait, what? What do you mean, 'so'?"_

"_Oh, c'mon, Case", Derek laughed, it's not like they didn't spend the next three and a half years trying to make us get along!"_

_Casey's eyebrows went up. __**Was he really that dense?**__ She groaned, exasperated at having to say more. "No, you idiot", she muttered, "She thought we would end up __**dating**__!"_

_Derek's jaw slackened in shock, "Oh."_

--

**Chapter 7**

"Yeah, 'Oh'", Casey said sarcastically. She sat down in the grass, knees bent as she leaned back on her elbows, deciding to wait it out. It wasn't like they were done talking yet, anyways.

She tilted her head back to watch Derek pacing behind her. Now that her little speech was over, she was calmly watching her step-brother freak out. It was quite entertaining. Especially because most people didn't get the privilege of seeing such a thing.

Derek was running his hands through his hair intermittently as he paced several feet this way, then that way, all the while muttering unintelligible phrases at himself that Casey couldn't understand.

Before he could enter too far into his own thoughts, he heard Casey speak from her spot on the grass. "You want me to go find that strait-jacket now, Der?"

He glared at her. "How are you suddenly so calm?" he asked incredulously. "You were having a patented Casey freak-out not five minutes ago! What the hell happened?"

Casey stood up slowly, brushing grass clippings from her skirt, and moved to stand near him before she shrugged, "I guess I just realized that it doesn't really matter." She forced her voice to sound flat and unbothered, even as her stomach clenched at the lie.

Derek's eyebrows shot up, "It doesn't matter? How can you say that? And why didn't you tell me all of this sooner?"

A resigned look crossed her face, "It was a long time ago, Derek", she murmured. _And I knew you would never feel the same way_, she thought. Before he could reply, Casey turned and walked back to face the pond. Speaking just loud enough for him to hear her, she said, "Ya know, I kind of missed you while we were away." She hadn't meant to say that, and she felt like slapping herself.

She whirled around at the sound of his voice saying her name, though. _Really?_ She thought, _did he always used to say her name this often when they talked?_ She couldn't really remember. It had been so long since they had even spoken; much less had a full conversation.

She had interrupted him mid-'Casey', "I don't really want to talk about it right now, Derek", she said firmly.

"What, exactly don't you want to talk about?" he asked harshly. "Or are we going to have another one-sided conversation?"

She rolled her eyes, "Look, I get it. We were both away at college. _Far away from each other_, living our own lives, _alone_. You don't need to explain anything, Derek. It's not like you owe me anything, and I'll admit to being partially at fault."

Derek narrowed his eyes at her, "I don't have a clue as to what you're going on about, but are you really going to try to pretend that you're not totally pissed at me, and that you don't think that I owe you an apology?" he asked her incredulously.

Casey glared at him. "It doesn't really matter, does it?" she asked derisively. "I don't want an apology from you just because you think that's what I want. Don't try to make me feel like less of an idiot for expecting something – anything – by making patronizing comments and just saying what I want to hear. I deserve better than that, and you know it."

"Oh, so now we're playing the 'Let's try to read Casey's mind' game", Derek bit out sarcastically.

"No", Casey said fiercely, "More like the 'Make Derek do the right thing and act like a decent human being' game."

"You know what, Casey", Derek said, his voice tinged with annoyance, "I can never win when it comes to you. No matter what I say or do, it's not enough for you. And sometimes, I really have to wonder if _you_ even know what you want. Because I sure as hell don't. So tell me, _Princess_, what do you want?!"

Casey stared at him, wide-eyed, before falling back down to the ground, choking back tears. "Dammit", she heard Derek mutter before she saw him through her hair, squatting down in front of her. "I didn't mean to make you cry", he said softly. He reached a hand towards her, but stopped, not sure if she really wanted him touching her at the moment.

"It's not your fault", she mumbled through her tears and the hair that was conveniently covering her face.

To Derek, what she had said, had sounded more like '_snotterfult'_, but he got the point, and his hand reached up and brushed the hair back from her face.

She jerked back in surprise, muttering, "No, no, _no_." Casey buried her face in her hands, "I look like crap right now", she whined.

Derek wisely refrained from agreeing with her or commenting further. He just grabbed her forearms, chuckling as her hands stayed over her face until she realized she was against his chest. "Oh, god, the universe hates me or something", she mumbled.

"Gimme a break, Spacey", Derek said in a chipper tone, "It's not like I haven't seen you look worse."

She uncovered her face and managed to give him a half-hearted glare through her tears, "Der-ek" she groaned, slightly embarrassed.

Casey was enjoying the feeling of his hand running through her hair, when he spoke thoughtfully, "You should think about getting that patented or something, before someone steals it."

Casey snorted in amusement, which sounded… well, disgusting, seeing as she had been crying not thirty seconds ago. She looked to the right, to see her purse about ten feet out of reach. She groaned and attempted to get up, but Derek's hand that wasn't in her hair, was wrapped around her waist, holding her still. "Derek, I need my purse", she said softly, thinking he would be as embarrassed as she was about the position they were in, and things would be even _more _awkward.

Instead of letting her go, however, he tightened his grip on her slightly; like he was afraid she would run away. That was silly, seeing as he had his keys _and _hers in his pocket. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly, peering down at her.

"I'm fine", she said softly. She groaned internally at her mistake. Derek always said that 'I'm fine', in Casey-speak gave him license to call 'bullshit', and then bug the crap out of her until she spilled her guts.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Wanna run that by me again?" he asked.

She sighed, "I've been better", she admitted reluctantly.

"Uh-huh", he stated, unimpressed, "And?"

"Der-" she was going to try to distract him, but-

"Nope. Tell me, Case", he said sternly.

"What do you want me to say, Derek? We knew this would be a sucky conversation… It could have been worse", she said, managing what she thought was a semi-convincing tone.

Apparently not. "Casey, I can only think of a handful of our arguments that have ended with you in tears. That being said, this conversation is nowhere near over, but we should get back before the kids get back, okay?" he said.

"Alright", Casey conceded. She leaned back slightly as his grip on her loosened. Derek was watching her intently as Casey looked up at him. She reached a hand up to run it through the front part of his hair. "You need a haircut, Der", she stated softly.

"Yeah", he mumbled lazily, before grinning at her impishly. "You wanna cut it?" he asked her.

"Ummm… sure?" she replied. Her answer sounded like a question, but seriously? _What the hell? _He _never _let her touch his hair, much less come near him with scissors – or any other sharp object.

--

Casey was the resident McDonald-Venturi hair-cutter. She had been since she was sixteen. She gave herself one good haircut, and had been put to work. She had cut everyone's hair – except Derek's. He was always conveniently absent whenever she had brought the scissors out.

She was in her room after dinner – not pacing- and definitely _not_ thinking about what had happened earlier. Needing something to distract herself, Casey opened her laptop and began writing an email to Sheri. She had just finished writing, '_Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god_', when her door creaked opened. "What, Derek?" she questioned, not turning around. She saved her message in '_Drafts_', and twirled herself around in the chair to see him leaning against her now closed door.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked casually.

"I have Derek-radar", she said, truthfully, but unhelpfully.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

"You didn't knock", she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, okay", Derek replied.

"So, umm, did you need something?" Casey questioned awkwardly.

Derek made himself comfortable on her bed before replying. "Nope, just wanted to come visit my favorite step-sister."

"Well, it seems like your sense of direction is severely impaired, seeing as Lizzie's room is at the _other _end of the hall", Casey said cheekily, happy to be back on normal footing.

"Cute, Case", he said, smirking at her.

"Mhm", she sighed as she logged out of her email. Considering his sneaky tendencies, and recent events, she _really_ didn't want him reading her emails.

They sat in silence for several minutes before Derek finally sat up from his lounging position on Casey's bed to speak, "Casey, we have to talk about what happened today", he said.

"Yeah, about that", Casey started in an odd tone, "I'd rather not."

He gave her a skeptical look, "Uh-huh. Well, considering the glaring contest you had with Nora that lasted all of dinner, that's not an option."

Casey stared at him, hoping that if she glared hard enough, maybe he would burst into flames. That didn't exactly work – at all. "Derek, I told you that we got into a fight this morning", she said tiredly.

"Yeah about me", he said sarcastically.

"So?" Casey questioned petulantly.

"_So_?" Derek repeated. "_So_ I'm going to bet that you left out at least _half_ of what you should have told me. Like why Nora is so pissed that you _just_ told me something that she told you not to – _four and a half years ago_! Please tell me that college hasn't turned _you_ into 'avoid-y girl'."

Instead of answering his _real _question, she said, "_Please_ don't tell me that you're going to start calling me that."

"_Casey_", Derek said exasperatedly, "Would you stop acting like this is a game?! It's not funny."

"Oh, and here I thought that this situation was just _hilarious_", she retaliated sarcastically. Casey turned her chair back to the computer and opened a game of _Solitaire_, hoping to make a point.

Derek growled behind her, in what she assumed was annoyance, before she heard his voice, "Come here. Now."

She turned slightly to look at him. He was sitting at the end of her bed – glaring at her. She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Casey, stop being a bitch", his tone was harsh and angry.

"Well, excuse the hell outta me, but I don't talk to guys that call me a bitch", she glowered at him, "So, you can get the fuck out."

"Oh, is _that _why you can't keep a boyfriend, Case? And here, I just thought that you had shitty taste in guys. But that's not it at all, is it? It's because you're so afraid of not having something _perfect_ that you'll use anything to keep everyone at arm's length. So, you're miserable, and inevitably, whatever guy you're with, will get tired of all your bullshit, and will call you a bitch. So you get to use that well-rehearsed line, so it sounds like you're just standing up for yourself, instead of admitting that you're _fucking terrified_ of commitment. Well, guess what, Casey? That line won't work on me, because, _newsflash_: I'm not your boyfriend. And secondly, you _are_ acting like a bitch. And I'm probably the only one who will give you a reality check. So, once again, come here", Derek gave her a pointed look, but Casey just sat there in stunned silence.

Derek sighed and stood up, walking the few feet to where Casey was sitting in her chair. He pulled her up and walked her back to the bed. He sat her down at the end of the bed, "Stay", he said.

"I'm not a dog, Derek", she finally speaks, managing to infuse the proper amount of annoyance into her tone.

Derek just rolled his eyes and pulled her chair to the end of her bed and plopped down in front of her, "Of course not, Spacey", he said patronizingly.

"Don't be an ass, Derek", Casey replied.

Derek ignored her comment, seeing as Casey had called him an ass at least once a day since they had met. "You're not going to yell at me for everything I just said?" he questioned, looking at her curiously.

Casey sighed, avoiding his gaze, "No. That's your opinion, you just happen to be wrong. I mean, yes, I may have issues with being in a relationship, but that doesn't make me defective."

"Casey", he started, "I didn't say that."

She looked up at him then, "I know, but you still don't understand. After I broke up with Max, I was supposed to use that time to figure myself out. Instead, Truman came along. And despite his stalker-ish tendencies, I found myself liking the attention. I mean, god, it's not like guys at that school chased after me, ever." Casey glared at Derek then, clearly knowing that he had had something to do with that.

Derek gave her a sheepish look. "C'mon, Case, if you had found a decent guy that I thought you would have actually been happy with, I wouldn't have made it _that_ difficult."

She gave him an incredulous look, "You have got to be kidding me. You attacked your best friend in our living room to keep him from asking me out!"

"Umm, temporary insanity", Derek unconvincingly.

"Mhm, sure, Derek", Casey said skeptically.

"Casey", Derek said seriously, "You spent _at least_ half of your relationship with Sam crying your eyes out because you guys kept breaking up. And Sam was all mopey. You guys would have been better off just being friends from the start, like you are now. And I'll tell you why. Plain and simple: _He couldn't handle you._"

Casey raised her eyebrow, "Explain, please", she said in a hard tone.

"Case, your idea of the perfect guy is someone who will always do everything you want. But I think that even you know that a guy like that won't make you happy forever", he looked at her carefully, probably wondering if he should move before she could hit him with something.

Instead she turned to lay on her side and curled into a little ball at the foot of the bed, her head propped up on one hand, "That may be true", she said quietly, "But you should have left that up to me and not interfered."

"Casey", Derek said amusedly, "When have I _ever_ not interfered in something that involved you? You know, except recently."

Casey's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to think. Only one situation was prominent in her mind – and she didn't like it. "Max", she said finally. "Aside from telling me that I shouldn't try to be popular, and laughing at me when I told you that I thought I was allergic to him, you pretty much stayed out of that altogether."

Derek snorted. Of course he still thought that was funny. She glared at him before continuing, "And don't try to tell me it was because of the treaty, because that didn't happen until after I had been dating Max for at least a month and a half." Casey's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"I remember you and Sam pulling pranks on him, but that stopped after you were nearly ripped in half by The Fridge. That could have been the end of it, and you guys could have gone back to politely ignoring each other. But, instead, you broke your own hockey vs. football rule and you guys were kind of friends. Until he and Sally came over for that horribly awkward dinner and you went back to harassing him at dinner. Then I thought we were going to break up, but we didn't. And you and I in the dining room during the 'George in the Jungle' reunion-" Casey looked at Derek, an odd expression on her face, "You were keeping an eye on me weren't you?" she asked, surprised at the realization.

"Umm, no?" Derek said, clearly caught off guard.

Casey raised an eyebrow, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?" she asked. "Wanna try that again?"

Derek groaned, "Maybe, just a little bit…" he admitted reluctantly. "Just don't tell anybody", he said.

Casey smirked, "Sure, Derek."

"_Casey_", Derek whined. She just laughed.

"I was worried about you", he said suddenly.

Casey stopped laughing and sat up, "Why?" she asked.

"You were changing everything about yourself to be who you thought he wanted. When you're with the right person they should want to be with you because of who you are, not because they can make you into something else", he said.

Casey stared at him, biting her bottom lip as he continued. "When I heard that you agreed to go out with Truman, I seriously thought about locking you in your room until we could find you a neuro-surgeon."

"Derek!" Casey exclaimed in feigned outrage.

"You changed even more for him", he said. "Even after Max, I didn't realize that you were so insecure. If I had known, there would have been a lot of things that I wouldn't have said to you – even as a joke", he finished softly.

"Why are you telling me this now, Derek?" Casey asked him confusedly.

"Because", he sighed, "Since we've been apart, it seems like you've made even more dramatic changes than you had for Max and Truman combined. And despite-" he grimaced, "the birth control pills in your purse-" he grimaced again.

Casey glared at him, "You shouldn't have gone through my stuff. Now you're grossed out and it's your own fault."

"Yeah, yeah", Derek shook his head, "Despite _that_, there doesn't seem to be a guy in your life right now. So, I guess I'm just wondering what you're running away from – besides yourself."


	8. Chapter 8

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or…Anything. *cries in the corner*

**A/N: **I am so thrilled about all the reviews. It totally makes my day!! So thanks!! (And, patience is a virtue. Don't worry; it will happen – soon possibly. Unless all this drama runs away from me again. And I'm not avoiding, I'm building up suspense. _Remember, they have a year's worth of frustration between them to get settled first_.) I don't own _RENT _either but it is one of my favorite musicals. And I thought Casey might be a fan. Read bottom author's note at the end for a literature trivia question about a book…

--

_Flashback:_ _"Yeah, yeah", Derek shook his head, "Despite that, there doesn't seem to be a guy in your life right now. So, I guess I'm just wondering what you're running away from – besides yourself."_

--

_**Chapter 8**_

"Did you ever happen to think that _maybe_ I just did it for me?" she asked. "Maybe I just wanted to be someone else for a change?"

"Yeah", he said, "I did. I just don't understand why."

When Casey didn't respond, Derek continued, "You were _never_ in love with Truman, Casey", he said. He wasn't asking, it was a statement of fact.

"And?" she asked, "You know that, and I know that. So what's your point?"

"Because", he said, "even after all this time, I still have no idea why you would even go out with that douche bag in the first place. Much less go out with him _again_."

Casey raised an eyebrow before going on the offensive. "Yeah? Well I still don't understand why, at that party in Toronto when Truman kissed Vicky, you told him never to talk to me again, only to talk me into going with him to the _prom_!" Casey stood up and walked to the middle of her bedroom.

Derek got up from the chair to follow her. "Yeah, so that was wrong… But you were the idiot who listened to me! Since _when_ do you listen to me anyways?"

"_Of course I shouldn't have listened to you! _You just did it so you could go with Emily. It was Sweden all over again!" her voice was getting louder, but she really couldn't help it at the moment.

"God, Casey! Of course that's why I did it. But I didn't for one second think that you would take him back! Did you ever happen to think that maybe I did it because I thought _maybe_ you could get some closure? That guy was calling twenty times a day and making everyone miserable. I figured he could explain himself, and you could possibly tell him to 'go to hell', and be done with it", he finished, slightly exasperated.

Casey worried her bottom lip nervously, "Oh", she said softly. _They seriously had communication issues_.

He studied her for a moment, "Why did you go out with him again anyways?" he asked.

She knew he was pushing for some reason, and she wasn't quite sure why. But she knew she couldn't get away with _not_ answering the question at all; he wouldn't let her. However, maybe she could get away with a half-truth. Casey sighed, "I needed a distraction – from everything. You know I hate change. It was wrong, and I knew it wouldn't last, but… I just don't know", she trailed off.

Derek nodded slightly, but frowned, "You know I don't like it when you lie to me, Case, but I like it even less when you lie to yourself. I hope you're at least truthful with yourself when you think about the reason you broke up with him right after graduation." He gave her a pointed look and headed towards the door.

He was half-way there, with his back to her, when Casey's mouth ran away without her abject permission, "Truman wasn't good enough for me, Derek. And he was never who I wanted."

Casey was standing frozen in the middle of the room when Derek turned around to look at her. Her mouth was still opened and her eyes widened in shock. It may have looked like she was overcome by some realization, but that wasn't the case. This wasn't a new thought for her to be having – not by a long-shot. But she sure as hell hadn't meant to say it out loud, _ever_ – especially to Derek.

--

Casey was sitting on the couch in the living room the next morning watching _RENT_, enjoying the solitude of the house. Everyone had left for the day, and Derek, as far as she knew, was still asleep. Casey was attempting to drown her problems in Adam Pascal and popcorn.

It had taken a solid ten minutes after her 'almost confession' for her to convince Derek to get out of her room so she could go to sleep – (_think_). After that she had changed into some fuzzy pajamas and curled up in her bed with a horrified look on her face. _How could she have said that?_

Half-way through the movie, she heard his footsteps coming down the stairs. She ignored him until he stopped behind her, "_What the hell?_" he asked incredulously.

Casey brought her attention back to the screen and bit back a groan. _Of course he would see this part_. Maureen and Joanne were at their reception/whatever, mid-song. "I didn't know you were into lesbians, Case", Derek said laughing.

"Oh, shut it, Derek", Casey said, somewhat amused.

Derek disappeared into the kitchen, only to return several minutes later with a bowl of cereal in hand. He sunk down on the couch beside her silently. They finished the movie in an 'almost' silence, except for Derek's occasional dirty commentary which had Casey red in the face from either biting back her laughter or from embarrassment.

Casey was replacing the DVD back in its case when Derek came back from the kitchen after she had told him to put his bowl away. "So, Casey", he said.

"What?" she questioned, curious about the casualness of his tone – especially after the past two days.

"You still have those scissors?" he asked.

_Ah, the scissors_, she thought. She had bought a special pair that had gone in a case with all her hair-cutting supplies. Derek had once called them "tiny Chinese torture devices". She raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Yes, why?"

He gave her a look that she assumed meant that he was assessing her for brain damage. "What?" she asked, her tone was distinctly annoyed.

"Umm, you remember our conversation yesterday? _You know_. I need a haircut. You have scissors. Do the math, Spacey", he said calmly.

"You were serious?" she question in surprise.

"C'mon, Casey, it's not like you have anything better to do", he said.

Casey bit her lip in deliberation. She wasn't quite sure if it was a good idea for her to be that close to him – in his personal space – right now, but… "Oh, fine", she said, "Let's go."

She headed up the stairs with Derek on her heels. Casey made him retrieve his rolly chair from his room while she located her good scissors. _Alright, focus, Casey_, she thought. _No need to pull a Klutzilla. _She reluctantly made her way to the upstairs bathroom where Derek was waiting for her.

Casey positioned the chair in the middle of the bathroom, giving herself plenty of room, before allowing Derek to take a seat. With one hand in his hair, she began to trim it carefully. She "_shushed_" him on three different occasions. "I need to concentrate", was all she said – besides her threat to turn him into Van Gough if he didn't hold still.

After about twenty minutes of slow, rhythmic, snipping noises, she was finally satisfied with her work. Casey ran an idle hand through his hair, checking for misplaced hairs, finding none, she grinned evilly from her position behind him. "Uh-oh", she mumbled.

Derek turned his head to look at her suspiciously, "'Uh-oh', what?" he asked.

She tried not to, but couldn't help letting out a giggle. "I'm just kidding", she said, shaking her head slightly. "But you _are_ done."

He stood up and turned around to face her, "That wasn't funny", he said.

Casey just rolled her eyes. _He was so dramatic about his hair_. She whined at him when she looked up. "_Der-ek_! You're getting hair everywhere. I don't understand why I just couldn't use a towel", she grumbled.

"It's too girly", he mumbled.

"Oh, but shedding all over the floor isn't?" she asked sarcastically. "Hold still", she reprimanded, grabbing him by the shoulders, "You're making a mess".

Derek rolled his eyes at _her_ this time. "Would you please relax? It's not like it's hard to clean up", he said. He was slightly amused by his dramatics though.

Casey ignored his attempt to calm her down, "You're going to have to wash that shirt", she continued, ignoring him, "Hair tends to weave itself into fabric for some reason, so you can't just brush it off, it'll make you all itchy…" Her tirade came to an abrupt halt as Derek pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the open laundry basket in the corner of the bathroom.

"Case, chillz, I have other shirts", he said, nonchalantly leaning against the sink.

"Right", she said, swallowing – and definitely not using her 'freaking out' voice. She cleared her throat, "I'll go get the broom", she said, quickly rushing out, and completely missing the fact that Derek was smirking at her.

She retrieved the broom and dust pan from the kitchen pantry. Casey went to the refrigerator and took out a water bottle. She unscrewed the sealed lid and took a few sips. Not wanting to seem suspicious, Casey replaced the lid and set the plastic bottle on the counter, before she slowly made her way back up the stairs – hoping that _maybe_ he would have put a shirt on by the time she returned.

He hadn't. So she did the only thing she could think of. She pushed him out of the bathroom – under the pretense that she could get things clean much quicker without his help – and shut the door in his face.

Casey deftly swept up the floor before taking a seat on the edge of the bathroom counter. _What was the matter with her?_ She couldn't just jump her step-brother in the upstairs bathroom of their parents' house! Or, you know,_ anywhere._ She wasn't going to risk her heart with him – not unless she was sure he felt the same. There was too much at stake here than just her own humiliation. Not that that wasn't a huge part of it.

And how _dare_ hewalk around likethat. It wasn't fair for him to be tempting her the way he was. There was no way she could live like this for another two and a half months. Surely, repressing her feelings for such a length of time would cause her to do something drastic, especially since he would be right in front of her. At this point, she was almost welcoming an emotional breakdown so she could get over it. Almost.

Twenty-something minutes of self-pity later, Casey forced herself down from her perch. She turned to look at herself in the mirror, "Chill out, Case", she muttered quietly to her reflection.

Casey took a deep breath, and slowly opened the bathroom door, hoping it wouldn't creak, planning to sneak to her bedroom. She was startled by the sight of Derek standing outside the door, now wearing a different shirt. She was immensely grateful for that, but the way he was looking at her… she shivered. Casey attempted to step out into the hallway, but he blocked her in. he stepped into the bathroom with her instead, closing the door and leaning against it so she couldn't escape. _Damn_.

"Derek! What are you doing? Do you really think it went so well the _last _time we got stuck in here?" Casey exclaimed, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. _What was he doing in here?_

Derek snorted, "It was worth it to see you all mussed up for a change. And I'm pretty sure Marti stopped putting her ABC gum in the door jamb when she was ten."

Casey raised an eyebrow, but decided not to ask about the implications of that statement. "Well, it was kind of…fun." She smirked at him, "And I got to empty a bag of trash on your head."

"Oh, yeah", Derek said sarcastically, "That was _fabulous_. How many times_ have _you dumped garbage on me?"

Casey laughed, "Umm, two – possibly three – times".

"That probably has some deep physiological meaning, but I'm not sure I could manage analyzing you", Derek said jokingly.

"Yeah, well, you've been doing a pretty good job at it recently", Casey muttered.

Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair, before he stepped in front of where Casey was leaning against the sink again. "Casey, that wasn't…" he took a breath and started over. "I wasn't 'analyzing' you, Case. People who don't get you, usually just haven't taken the time to pay attention", he said carefully.

"And you do?" she asked in a whisper. She pulled back slightly to hop up on the counter, needing some space.

Instead he followed her, stopping when his upper thighs brushed against her knees. "C'mon, Case", he said, "You have to know that I… _well, you know_."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "What are you trying to say?" she asked cautiously.

"You can't honestly tell me that you think I don't care about you at all", he said frustratedly.

She looked up at him, bewildered, "Well, no, but…"

"But, nothing", he growled. "_I care about you_. Plain and simple. Let's just leave it at that."

He backed away, attempting to leave, but Casey jumped down from her spot and grabbed his arm, whirling him around to look at her. "_What the hell, Derek?"_ Casey exclaimed. "You can't just say something like that and leave!"

He shook her off gently, "Let it go, Case", he said, running a hand through his hair. Casey walked quickly around him to plaster herself against the door. "No, Derek. Why would-" she stopped as he once again invaded her personal space.

"Casey, move", he said firmly.

"Or what?" she asked indignantly.

He growled at her again, "_Casey_", he said in exasperation.

"Or. What", she said again, looking at him defiantly.

And suddenly, he was inches away from her, his hands propping himself up on either side of her head, trapping her. "_Don't push it_", Derek said.

"_Excuse me?"_ Casey shrilled. "You were the one who came in here in the first place, and I want to know _why_!"

He glared at her before swinging her around, away from the door. He opened the door behind him, still looking at her. "You know", he said, "For someone so smart, you can be _such_ an idiot." The he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Casey sank to the floor, leaning against the tub, her elbows resting on her propped up knees, hands covering her face, "_This cannot be happening"_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or…Anything. *cries in the corner*

**A/N**: You guys have all been wonderful!!! Thank you for all the reviews so far! *grins like an idiot* Enjoy the sibling plotting. Lol. Gotta love it. This chapter got away from me, but I think it's still pretty good. A little more light-hearted, I thought we could use a short break from all the drama.

_**Chapter 9**_

It was official, he was definitely mad at her. No, not mad, super _pissed off_. He was avoiding her like the plague. It had been a week since their face-off in the bathroom, and she was tired of the tension.

While he had decided to get off his ass and hang out with Sam – conveniently, everyday – Casey spent time with their younger siblings, now that their few weeks of camp were over. They went to play Frisbee in the park, made use of the new swimming pool in the backyard, went to the mall – Edwin went to the electronic store – and spent a girls day with Marti and Lizzie. So far they were pretending not to notice that Casey and Derek were, in fact, not speaking, and she was grateful.

But enough was enough. It _had_ to stop. And she had _no idea_ how to go about fixing it. So she does the only logical thing possible. She called for reinforcements: _the siblings_. While they were _way_ too smart for their own good, she knew they would help.

Sunday night after another semi-silent dinner, Casey sent a text message to Lizzie and Edwin. _Sibling meeting tomorrow while the 'rents are at work & Derek is w/ Sam. Include Marti. __**Do not tell Derek.**__ ~Casey~_

Five minutes later the reply came from Lizzie's phone. _We're all in. Supplies?_

Casey chuckled quietly. They were always prepared. _Just bring your notebooks. We'll need them. ~Casey~_

Casey quietly crept out of her room, hoping to avoid Derek for the time being. She made her way to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She finishes her nightly routine and sneaks successfully back into her room and shuts the door.

She can still hear music blaring from the next room. Never mind that it's almost eleven o'clock. Their parents can't hear it from their basement bedroom, so they don't care. Lizzie, Edwin and Marti are able to sleep through _anything_ – besides the fact that Edwin sleeps an _entire floor_ above them. But Casey, well, she _absolutely refuses _to deal with this for one more night. She had been sleeping with a pillow wrapped around her head every night since their fight. _Not again_.

She pulls on some black silk pajama pants and a baby pink tank top and wrenches her door open to stomp down the hall. She gives him two cursory knocks before flinging the door open and walking in. She makes her way to his stereo and turns the volume dial, so that the noise coming out of the speakers could now be tolerated by human ears. Casey turns around and walks out, not looking at him, pausing at the door to say, "Keep it down or use your damn headphones. _Some_ of us like a quiet environment to sleep in", and slams the door behind her.

--

The next morning, Casey stayed in her room until she was sure Nora and George had left for work. Ten minutes after the back door had slammed – twice – and she heard the cars leave the driveway, Casey went to take her shower, once in the hallway, she heard cartoons playing on the family room television, signaling that Lizzie and Edwin were awake. She knew that Marti would be up soon as well, so she hurried into the bathroom, but not before glancing at Derek's shut bedroom door.

Twenty minutes later, Casey was finished in the bathroom, her hair dried, make-up done, and dressed in an _Athletic Dept._ baby pink t-shirt and a pair of dark wash blue jeans that made her legs look even longer than they already were.

Casey made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. She drank a cup and a half of coffee before pouring herself a bowl of cereal and backtracked into the family room and took a seat on the couch next to Lizzie and Edwin to watch _Angry Beavers_. It _was_ summer after all. She needed a break from intellectual things.

After an hour or so of mind-numbing cartoons, Casey cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Marti had gotten up and was curled up on the couch with them. A few moments of debate later, Lizzie took Marti upstairs to help her find some clean clothes to wear, while Edwin and Casey set up the _Game Cube_ to play_ Babe Raider_. As they settled back on the couch, controllers in hand, Casey hissed at Edwin, "I thought Derek would be up and gone by now!"

"I dunno", he muttered, "Maybe he's staying home today."

Casey groaned, "I hope not".

Edwin just shrugged and hit the button to start the game. "You ready to get served, Sis?" he asked her with a smirk on his face that he had definitely inherited from his brother.

She couldn't help but grin, "You're on, Bro."

--

Roughly two and a half hours later, they were tied at two games each. Finally coming out of their game trance and looking around, they realized that neither Lizzie nor Marti had come back downstairs. Deciding that they were at a good stopping point, Casey and Edwin left the game on the menu screen and headed upstairs to find their siblings.

Halfway up the stairs, they heard a series of shrieks and giggles. With a look of confusion on both of their faces, they followed the noises all the way to Derek's – now open – bedroom door. Casey held a finger to her lips before they took a cautious peek into the room.

Casey couldn't hide her grin at the sight. They were all on Derek's bed, engaged in a mild form of a pillow fight. She and Edwin stepped into the doorway and went unnoticed for several minutes until Derek was nearly knocked off the bed by Marti, whose pillow had hit him squarely in the chest, catching him off guard. Edwin was practically doubled over in laughter, effectively startling the three. Lizzie and Marti had sheepish grins on their faces, hair ruffled from the excitement. And Derek, equally ruffled – and still in his pajamas – still managed to give her a smirk as he stood up at the foot of the bed.

Casey carefully crossed her arms across her chest and attempted a stern look. She raised an eyebrow, "Do I _want_ to know?" she asked, amusement evident in her tone. _She would later deny the fact that she was, momentarily, consumed by the image of this happening in the future. But somehow, she wasn't scolding Derek and their siblings; it was Derek and their own kids. And she wouldn't have time to get upset because – _

She was startled out of her thoughts by a very real pillow – not one that she had imagined – hitting her in the face. _Oh, my god! She was in an alternate universe. _Derek, who had obviously thrown it, was looking at her oddly. _She __**had**__ to stop thinking like this. _Casey could feel her face flushing, when Lizzie spoke up. _Thank God for good sisters!_

"Marti and I found the box of the rest of her summer clothes" Lizzie said, "And we could hear Derek snoring down the hall, so we decided it was time for him to get up."

"Hey! I don't snore", Derek sound defensively.

That brought on a round of laughter and a resounding, "_Yes you do!_" from everyone else.

Casey cleared her throat in an effort to stop laughing, but she was still grinning. "It's about time for lunch", she said

"You're not going to ask who started it?" Lizzie asked. "'Cause it was totally Derek."

"It was not!" Derek said, feigning innocence, "If you two hadn't come in here and bounced me out of my own bed, I wouldn't have had to hit you with a pillow. _It was self-defense, I tell you!_"

Casey shook her head in a futile attempt to deny the pure cuteness of the situation. Because while she and Derek hadn't often gotten along, she had always appreciated how nice he had always been to her sister – you know, after some bribing. "Guys! Hungry? Food?"

"Well, I'm tired of pizza", Edwin replied from his spot on the floor by her feet.

"You're _what?_" Derek asked incredulously. "Blasphemy!"

"Not everyone can live on pizza or things that should be put down the garbage disposal, Derek", Casey said sweetly.

Derek snorted, "Yeah, because tofu is so much better", he said sarcastically.

A hand moved to her hip defiantly, "Derek, _I_ don't even like tofu. And you knew that."

He stared at her blankly for a moment, "So?"

Casey started giggling; his lack of a good comeback didn't happen very often. Apparently her giggles were infectious, and soon everyone except Derek was laughing. After a few minutes, Derek interrupted them, "What is so funny?" he asked, his tone slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, Bro", Edwin replied, still laughing, "I think you've lost your touch."

Derek crossed his arms over his chest, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think he's trying to say that you and Casey have been away from each other for so long that you can't argue properly anymore", Lizzie answered. _Ok, forget good sisters. She was going to __**throttle**__ her sister later. When there were no possible witnesses._

"That's not true!" Derek sputtered, somewhat unconvincingly.

"Yes it is, Smerek", Marti said matter-of-factly. Everyone whipped around to look at the eleven-year-old who was currently playing on Derek's laptop. They had forgotten that she was still in the room.

Wanting to stop the direction of this soon-to-be awkward conversation, Casey spoke up again, "Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, come help me find something to make for lunch. Derek probably wants to get dressed."

"Ok, Mom", Derek said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her.

Casey shot him a look that _clearly_ said, '_If you want to continue this conversation, I can leave them up here with you_'.

He obviously read the look on her face, _his _face slightly panicked, and he began herding them out, "I _should_ get dressed. Pajamas. Noon. Bad", Derek said. "Everybody out."

They were all in the doorway and Casey nudged Edwin with her foot, "Up, Laughing Boy." She reached down to pull him up, and they all trailed out of the room. As they walked into the hallway, Edwin turned to Casey, "You're pretty cool, Case; I'm glad Derek decided to let us keep you."

"_What?_" Casey questioned indignantly.

"Me too", she heard Marti say from behind her.

Casey whirled around to face Derek who was now in the doorway, "Der-ek!" she shrieked angrily, "What did you-"

She was cut off by his laughter as he slammed the door in her face. "Stay, Case", he said through the door, still laughing.

Casey hit the door with an open, "_You told them I was the family pet?? _I am not a dog, you _idiot_!" she growled at him. The only other answer she got besides his hysterical cackling was his poor imitation of barking that she could hear through the door. She took a deep, calming breath, "C'mon guys", she said, motioning for them to follow her downstairs.

--

They were in the kitchen searching all the cabinets for some semblance of edible food, when two things happened simultaneously: she heard Edwin shout, "Score!" from inside the pantry, and her cell phone went off from its position on the island. Casey recognized the ringtone and went to pick it up as she called out, "What'd you find?"

"Hamburger Helper", he said.

"Awesome. Liz, Marti, check for hamburger meat in the freezer, would you?" Casey asked.

"Sure thing", Lizzie answered as Casey picked up her phone.

"Hey, Sheri", Casey said, hitting the button for her speakerphone, and her friend's voice rang out through the kitchen.

"Hey, Case! How's it going?" Sheri questioned curiously.

"Pretty good. We're making lunch – you're on speaker, by the way. Say 'hi' to everyone, Sheri", Casey said.

"Oh, yeah? Who am I saying 'hi' to?" she asked, a hint of playfulness in her tone.

"_Sheri_", Casey warned. There had been enough drama today.

"What? Answer the question, Avoid-y Girl."

Casey groaned, "Stop calling me that! And Lizzie, Marti, and Edwin are in the kitchen with me."

"Hi, guys", she said.

"Hey, Sheri", they replied.

"Aw, c'mon guys, where's the excitement?" Sheri asked in a faux wistful tone. She had spoken with all of them at some point, and it was evident in their easy conversation.

Her younger siblings had got the ball rolling for lunch. The meat was cooking, and the water in the pot was boiling with the noodles in it. Now they were all gathered around the island in full conference mode."Derek is upstairs, probably in the shower", Lizzie said helpfully

"Ah, I see", Sheri said conspiratorially. "Did you tell them, Casey?" she asked.

Casey sighed, "No, not yet. I was going to today, but Derek is still here. I can't chance him hearing what I have to say just yet."

"Casey-" Sheri started.

"Sheri, not now, okay?" Casey asked warily.

"Ugh, fine, but you can't put it off forever", she said.

"I know", Casey muttered. Then she shook her head and glared at her siblings, "Plus I'm mad at them right now. _What _were you guys thinking with that little stunt upstairs?" she directed at them.

Edwin snickered, "Chillax, Case, we're trying to help you out. It's not like Derek caught it or anything. I love my brother – sort of – but he's an idiot."

"What did you guys do?" Sheri asked in a completely un-serious scolding tone.

"Nothing", Marti said innocently.

"I'll email you the gruesome details later", Casey said, "It's too horrible to be repeated."

"Drama queen", Lizzie murmured.

"Am not!" Casey exclaimed.

"Casey!" Sheri exclaimed. "How old are you?"

"They started it", Casey whined.

"Mhm, sure they did, honey", Sheri said.

Casey sighed and perked up, "Tell me what's new with you guys. I haven't talked to Matt in over a week."

Sheri let out a peal of laughter, "Oh, _Case_, you'll never believe it!" she exclaimed.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, you know how he and Jeff are always having contests", Sheri started.

Casey groaned, "Better than anyone. Jeff is a co-worker" she added, explaining to her siblings. "Go on, Sheri. What happened?"

"They had a drinking contest", Sheri said.

"Oh, god", Casey muttered.

"My thoughts exactly", Sheri said.

"What happened?" Edwin asked.

"They wanted to find out who could drink the most twelve ounce beers in five minutes", she answered.

"Matt lost", Casey said matter-of-factly.

"Only by two, but yeah", Sheri said ruefully.

"What did he have to do?" Lizzie asked curiously.

Sheri let out a giggle, "His hair-" she broke off laughing.

"Sheri, what did he do?" Casey asked.

"He dyed it purple", she said finally. She was met with silence, "Guys?"

The siblings traded glances before promptly bursting into laughter. "Did you get a picture?" Marti asked through her giggles.

"Oh, yeah", Sheri said laughing with them. "Don't tell him, but it's the new back round on my laptop."

"We won't tell, right, guys?" Casey questioned.

"Nope, of course not", they said.

"So, Sheri," Casey started again, "What kind of purple is it?"

"_Magenta_, Casey, magenta!" she exclaimed.

"Like _Barney_?" Lizzie asked.

"Oh, my god! He just needs a few green spots and-" Sheri was involved in another fit of laughter.

"Poor Matt", Casey said, not sounding sympathetic in the slightest, "Send me a copy to my email", she said with a grin.

"You got it" she answered.

"Thanks", Casey said, "Here, talk with them for a minute while I take care of the food."

"Sure", Sheri said.

"You want some help, Case?" Lizzie asked.

"No, thanks, Liz. It'll only take a minute", Casey replied.

As Casey got out two strainers and two bowls, she listened to her friend asking their siblings about their day. Lizzie and Marti did a recap on their search for clean clothes, and when Edwin explained their two and a half hour match of _Babe Raider_, Casey interjected, "I want to play _Monkey Balls_ after lunch, you guys."

They were nodding in agreement when they heard Sheri. "_What in the world is __**Monkey Balls**__?"_

"It's a _Game Cube_ game, Sheri", Casey explained with a laugh.

"It's awesome", Lizzie said excitedly.

"And Casey sucks at it", Edwin added laughing at her.

"I do not", Casey retorted indignantly. "I just always end up with a retarded monkey!"

"Sure, Case, blame it on the monkey", Edwin said.

"Oh, I will!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him childishly. Marti and Lizzie giggled.

"Don't worry, Casey", Marti said, "I'll let you win a few games."

"Thanks, Marti", Casey groaned. Sheri was laughing from her end of the phone.

"We'll play _Crash_ afterwards, Casey", Lizzie said. "We're all pretty good at that one."

Casey nodded and went back to the counter as Edwin said, "I still don't get it. She _rocks_ at _Babe Raider_. She's beaten _Derek_. But she can't land a monkey in a ball on a target." He shook his head in feigned disappointment.

"I can if I have a sticky ball", Casey rebutted as she grabbed the strainer full of noodles out of the sink and dumped them back into the large pot.

"Sure you can, Casey", Lizzie said.

Casey half-listened while she finished with the food. The other strainer with the meat in it was balancing precariously on top of another bowl to contain the grease until it had cooled. She dumped that into the pot as well, and mixed in the milk and whatever was in the packet. She tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Edwin explain how he and Casey had caught Marti and Lizzie in a pillow fight with Derek. "And Casey totally had a 'mommy-moment'", Edwin finished.

"I did not", Casey said indignantly, setting the pot back on the stove to reheat.

"Uh, yeah, you kind of did, Casey", Lizzie said.

"I didn't even yell at you guys", she retorted.

"No, it was worse" said Marti. "You had that look on your face that you get when you think something is cute."

"Nuh-uh", she said childishly, and then she heard the noise from her phone. "Sheri, it's not funny. What is this? Pick on Casey day?"

"I'm sorry, Casey", she said, obviously muffling a laugh. "But you guys are just… And it's so…"

"Glad to be some form of afternoon entertainment for you", Casey responded dryly.

Sheri's laughter had started everyone else off again. Casey leaned against the island, burying her face in her hands, "Kill me now", she muttered to no one in particular.

"That can be arranged." _Crap_. Derek's voice came from the kitchen's entry way. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"I have no idea", Casey said warily. "Ask Giggles."

"Casey" Sheri said, "I _told_ you not to call me that! It was one time! Is that Derek?"

"One time my ass", Casey snorted. "More like _five_. And, yes, that's Derek."

"Who are you guys talking to?" Derek asked, coming to stand near the island with them.

"Sheri", Edwin answered.

"My roommate", Casey explained.

Derek paused momentarily. "Oh yeah?" he said finally. Casey nodded.

He leaned closer to the phone, "Sheri, is it?"

"Yes, that would be me", Sheri replied sweetly. Casey cringed, she knew that tone. She _dreaded_ that tone. Her friend was plotting something. _This was not good._

"And you've been living in the same box as Casey without any supervision", Derek questioned curiously.

Before Sheri could reply, Casey intervened, "Derek! Our dorm room is not a box! And if anyone needs supervision between _all _of us", she said, motioning to their siblings who had moved to stand near the stove, somewhat out of the line of fire – and to take the food off the burner, "it would be you!" she finished.

Derek rolled his eyes, "Calm down, Spazzy McGee", he said in a placating tone before he smirked at her. "Don't get your panties in a twist."

Out of the corner of her eye, Casey could see her sister wince. "_That_ is in direct violation of the "Do Not Mention Casey's Undergarments _Ever_" clause", she said. "Which means-"

He groaned, "Case, _no_!" he whined at her.

"Oh, yes", she said, grinning evilly. "Your IPod. One week. Mine."

"You have your _own _IPod now. Why do you need mine?" he queried.

"Rules are rules", she stated simply.

"Are they always like this?" Sheri's voice could be heard through the phone again.

"Yeah", Lizzie said, "Scary isn't it?"

"Wow, stories do _not_ prepare a person for hearing this level of crazy first-hand", Sheri replied.

"There's a _reason_ Dad and Nora call them The Two-headed Monster", Edwin stated darkly.

Derek raised both eyebrows, "Okay, two questions", he said turning to Casey. "First of all, what stories?" he asked, smirking at her. _Damn._

Casey glared at him, "I was venting", she stated, absently picking at a fingernail.

"Mhm, sure, Spacey", he said, obviously not believing her attempt at lying. Then he turned to Edwin, "What about a two-headed monster?"

Before Edwin could answer, Casey snorted, "There's _no _way that you didn't know that they called us that", she said.

"You knew they called us that and didn't tell me?" he asked, giving her an undecipherable look.

"Yeah, so?" she asked, curious about his tone.

"Nothing", he said finally.

"Well, we always knew that I had the head with the working brain", she said lightly. He just rolled his eyes at her.

"That's kind of creepy, Casey", Sheri said over the phone, "The implications-"

Casey cut her off quickly, "Sheri, now isn't the time to be paying attention in your Phych class." And she grabbed the phone off the counter and turned off the speakerphone as she held the phone to her ear. "Guys, go ahead and eat. I'll be back in a sec." And she turned and walked out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

She made it to the landing before she heard the footsteps following her. "What, Derek?" she asked exasperatedly, whirling around to face him. He was standing a step lower than her, and she still had to tilt her head to look at him properly.

He smirked at her cockily, "I was just thinking", he started, "that I should probably have a little _chat _with your roommate", he said. "You know, just to make sure you haven't _completely_ traumatized her", he stated innocently.

"Oh, _hell no_", Casey stated firmly. "I will not allow my best friend to be subjected to your stupidness."

He stepped onto the platform with her, effectively moving her backwards, "Fine", he said, "Just remember that I did, in fact, ask politely".

She didn't have time to respond before he was reaching towards her in attempt to take the phone from her hand. "Der-ek!" she cried angrily as she dodged him quickly and took off up the stairs, aware of him behind her.

He caught up to her by her bedroom door, and cornered her against the wall. She hid her hand behind her back, knowing that it would be pointless to hold it over her head, seeing as he was like six inches taller than she was. A few moments of scuffling later, her phone was no longer in her possession, and he was in his room with the door locked. "Dammit!" she growled. She stomped down the stairs angrily, and went to eat her lunch that she had left in the kitchen.

--

A little more than thirty minutes later, when she was with their younger siblings on the couch, playing _Monkey Balls_ – and losing quite badly – Derek came loudly down the stairs. She turned to look at him carefully. When he saw her, he tossed her back her cell phone, which she caught. The tenseness in his face worried her, and she wondered what Sheri had told him.

"I'm going out", he said, "I'll be back late." Derek grabbed his jacket off its hook and headed out the front door, slamming it behind him.

Lizzie had paused the game, and they were all watching her cautiously. She looked at each of them for a moment, "Guys, we have to talk", she said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Brotherly…Something?**

**Summary**: After spending their first year of college apart, they are home for summer vacation. A night of revealed secrets might change everything.

**Disclaimer:** Hahahahahahahaha!!!!! Like I _really_ own LWD!! Or…Anything. *cries in the corner*

**A/N**: You guys have all been wonderful!!! Thank you for all the reviews so far! *grins like an idiot* OK, I'm answering all your questions in this chapter, so you can all stop yelling at me via personal messages. Lol. **Side note:** Go check out Michael Seater on IMBD. The plot for the movie he will be in this year cracks me up… and in my Dasey-addled mind, I can't help but think that it would be a good plot for a LWD Fanfic. And I think that's my next plot-bunny, seeing as I can't stop thinking about it. Lol. (I already have like four chapters written for that lol – which is why I've neglected my other stories…)

_**Chapter 10**_

It was after eleven o'clock, Derek wasn't home yet, and Casey was lying on her bed mulling over the day's events and trying not to panic – it wasn't working. After Derek had left, Casey took everyone up to her bedroom and she told her younger siblings about their argument. Of course they had wanted to know details, so it had been quite a lengthy conversation. Then, they had called Sheri back because Casey was _fuming_ over having had her personal life being encroached on by Derek when he had stolen her cell phone. And _maybe_ she was insanely curious about what he had managed to finagle out of her roommate.

Clearly, finding out this information had not helped her state of mind. To say the least, she was _panicking_. I had taken Lizzie _shaking her_ to get her to stop freaking out before. Lizzie, and her other siblings, were in bed asleep by now. She had nothing to distract her from her pressing thoughts. Casey was replaying the conversation with Sheri over and over in her head, trying to contain her horror and sheer embarrassment. _It wasn't supposed to happen like this_, she thought. Casey was near hyperventilating when she heard the loud click of the front door shutting.

With widened eyes, Casey hurriedly turned on her iPod, letting music flow quietly through the speakers. She needed to at least _act_ like she was doing something besides waiting for him to come home. She snatched her laptop off her desk, opening it as she sprawled across her bed on her stomach, bare feet resting on her pillows, as she opened a game of Solitaire.

She heard him come up the stairs several moments later, the squeaky stairs undermining his attempt at quiet. Casey took a deep breath in order to prepare herself for the inevitable confrontation. Instead of him stopping at her door, he passed it. She heard his bedroom door close quietly. _He wasn't __**that**__ mad at her, was he?_ She had lost three straight games of Solitaire, simply for lack of concentration. She was seriously thinking about putting her pajamas on and just calling it a night when his door creaked open again and shut. On the other hand…_ talking was overrated, right?_

Repressing the urge to dive across her room to lock her door – _when did she become such a chicken?_ – Casey forced herself to stare at her laptop screen. It was nearly a minute later before she heard the two soft, cursory knocks on her door before it opened halfway and Derek slid inside her room, shutting the door behind him and locking it.

They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity, but it was probably less than a minute, before Derek spoke. "I'm not leaving 'til we talk, Case", he said. She eyed him warily, noticing the determined look in his eye.

"Derek-" she started, moving to sit cross-legged on the bed.

"I'm serious, Casey. I'm tired of this." He crossed his arms over his chest sternly, suddenly bringing a brown paper bag into view.

She raised a curious brow, "What's in the bag?"

He smirked slightly, "A bargaining chip. You have to agree to talk to me first."

She couldn't help the twitch of her mouth as she bit back a smile. This was just so _Derek_. Still, she was dreading it. "I have to pee?" It was supposed to be a factual statement – a lie, but he didn't need to know that – and she ruined her chance of a few minutes of solitude, just by the tone of her voice.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that", he said dryly. He kind of looked like he wanted to burn his ears off.

She stifled a giggle. "Bag", she said, pointing. "What's in it?"

His eyebrows furrowed, "What, are you five?"

She stuck her tongue out between her teeth at him.

He rolled his eyes, "Ice cream", he stated, eyeing her cautiously in case she decided to pounce. Casey had a problem being rational about ice cream.

Casey eyed Derek suspiciously, "What kind?"

"Promise me first", he said seriously.

She sighed in aggravation, looking him in the eye, "I promise. Now gimme."

He nodded and let out a chuckle. He walked over to her computer chair and took a seat as he emptied the bag. Casey couldn't count how many times he had sat in that chair over the years. The thought startled her slightly. _He had probably been in her room __**at least**__ once every day since their parents had gotten married._ Whether it was to yell at her, fight with her, or even comfort her, he was always _there_, even when she didn't want him to be. _Especially when she didn't want him to be. _

She shook her head to clear the thoughts that threatened to overtake her. _Oh, no way in hell was she going to cry._ She quietly took a deep breath to refocus, and she was just in time to catch the plastic spoon thrown at her. "A little warning would have been nice, you know", she muttered under her breath after she managed to avoid getting hit in the eye from the flying spoon.

"Yeah, but not nearly as amusing", Derek rebutted. After a moment's silence, he spoke again as another song came on. "What is this?" he asked.

"What?" she asked, "The song?" He nodded. "It's Damien Rice."

"Never heard of him", he said shaking his head.

She laughed lightly, "Not surprising. I think it would be what you would call 'crappy chick music'."

"Eh", he shrugged noncommittally, "It's better than some of that other crap you listen to."

"Oh, be quiet. Where's my ice cream?" she queried.

He pulled a pint sized container of _Ben & Jerry's_ ice cream and rolled the chair close enough to her bed to hand it to her. "Thanks", she said quietly.

"Remember our deal", he said seriously.

"I know", she said. Casey turned the carton around to see the label before she opened it. _Phish Food Ice Cream_®. She worried her bottom lip for a moment, feeling his eyes watching her, calculating. "That bad, huh?" she asked nonchalantly, looking up at him finally.

Derek studied her for a moment, before answering truthfully. "Yeah, probably", he said. He _knew_ her favorite ice cream to eat when she just wanted to indulge. It was always a toss-up between mint chocolate chip and vanilla with chocolate syrup. She only ate _Phish Food_® after a bad break-up or when she was really depressed. He knew this conversation wouldn't be light-hearted enough for her to want either of her first two choices. It was time to bring out the hard stuff.

He pulled the other container out of the bag and opened it. "What'd you get?" she asked curiously.

He put a large crater in the smooth ice cream with his own spoon and shoved it into his mouth. "_Cherry Garcia_®", he said finally. And, wait for it –

"Can I have a bite?" her tone was as serious as if she'd asked to get a retake on a test.

"What's wrong with _your_ ice cream?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

"Well, nothing, but-" she was cut off from trying explain just _why_ she needed to have some of his.

He held it out silently, with raised eyebrow. Casey crawled to the end of the bed on her knees and looked at him cautiously as she slowly dipped her spoon into the offered ice cream. "Oh, _come on_", he laughed. "I'm not the one who expresses violent tendencies over food! Quit acting like I'm going to bite you."

Casey gave him a pointed look and made her own smaller crater and popped the spoonful into her mouth. She shivered. "It's cold", she whined through her mouthful.

"It's _ice _cream, dumbass", he said as he leaned back out of her reach and propped his feet on the end of her bed, "Did you expect it to be _warm_?" He was about to take another bite when he looked at her thoughtfully. "I _could_ always warm yours up in a bowl. You really liked that the last time."

Her eyes widened, remembering the _last_ time she had asked him to get her some ice cream. She knew she had been pushing his new "nice factor" at the time, but really couldn't help herself. She had ended up with a bowl of melted ice cream dumped on her head. "No thank you", she said darkly.

Derek chuckled as she backed up slightly on the bed and opened her own container and dug in cautiously, now taking smaller bites. They sat in silence save for the music in the background eating in a somewhat companiable silence. Casey ate slowly as she felt the impending dread wash over her again. She was internally berating herself for being in this position if the first place when Derek spoke again.

"Why didn't you call me, Casey?" he asked. His voice was quiet, but his tone was serious, and she knew she was going to have to answer him.

"You're just gonna jump in the deep end, then?" Casey said not looking up. "You're not gonna build up to it or make sure there's a raft?"

"I'm done beating around the bush", he said, using the same tone. Then he was next to her on the bed, holding her chin gently so she had to look at him. "Sink or swim", he said softly. "I won't let you drown, Case."

She could see the truth in his eyes, and that did it. A single tear cascaded down her cheek. "_Dammit_", she cursed, somewhat hoarsely considering the tightness in her throat.

Derek sighed, and wiped it away with his thumb. "I'm sorry", he said. "But you know we need to do this."

She nodded, looking away.

"And, do you think, by any chance, you could manage not to cry?!" he asked, shuddering visibly.

Casey let out a shaky laugh, "Sorry. I'll try, but I make no promises."

He nodded before he went back to his seat in her chair at the end of the bed. He allowed a few minutes of quiet before he looked at her pointedly, "Casey."

"I'm _sorry_", she said finally. A beat later she's angry, "I _missed _you, you _jerk_!"

"And I would have _known_ that if you had _called_, Case!" Derek exclaimed in an aggravated tone.

"What?" she asked sarcastically, "Did you think I was just _lying_ when I said it the night before we left?? I didn't honestly think you wanted to talk to me! Which you clearly didn't, because you didn't call either!"

They had somehow both ended up on their feet, faces inches apart – much like they spent the majority of their time in this house together. Except now, more was at stake. "And you know what?!" Her voice was still angry, but now was hitting that high-pitched note that meant she was choking back tears. "That _killed me_, Derek! Not having you around turned me into the most _boring_, non-fun person ever! I _buried_ myself in school work trying to forget. I waited _three months_ for you to call before I got a clue! I felt like such an _idiot_! Even calling home twice a week didn't make me stop missing you! And then finally, _finally_, I snapped. My roommate comes back from class only to find me curled up in my bed in a disgusting, wet ball at four in the afternoon, because I didn't even bother to get out of bed, and spent the whole morning _crying_, _over __**you**__, of all people!_" She finally stopped to take a ragged breath in a futile effort to calm down.

Derek pulled her against his chest, "Casey", he muttered into her hair.

She choked out a sob that she couldn't contain before she pulled away and stood with her back to him. "Do you have any _idea_ how it feels to have the person who is the center of your universe – whether they should be or not – to just _not be there_?"

"Do you really think I don't know how that feels, Case? _Really? _How could you think that I wouldn't miss you?" he asked, his voiced incredulous, and heated with something she can't decipher.

Casey turns around to see him standing less than a foot away from her, his arms folded across his chest. His jaw is tight as he stares at her impatiently, waiting for her to say something. And then she knows for sure. And because she is tired of their dysfunctional-broken relationship, she knows she has to make the first move, for both their sakes.

"After I had my little 'freak-out'", she grimaced, "I decided that I needed things to be different. I wanted to become a completely different person. You know me, I went _way _overboard. I was trying so hard to get you out of my head – even when you weren't there, it's like you were. Like you were so much a part of me that I needed to be something else just to be able to _try_ to forget about you. Don't look at me like that", she said looking up to his face. "Let me finish before you get upset with me. I had the worst case of denial ever, and I still couldn't forget. I finally found a happy medium with who I am, and you know what? No matter what I try to convince myself of, I still need you in my life. I had hoped that not seeing you for months, finally getting some distance from _whatever _happened last year, that I would be able to come home and not be so goddamn _in love with you_. But that _clearly_ didn't work. And the few guys that I dated to try and get you out of my head for just a few hours, they didn't stand a chance."

She doesn't have time to catch her breath this time, so she can maybe tell him to go away in case she had misread things and he was looking at her in horror. His arms are wrapped around her lower back and just under her ass, holding her off the ground as he attacks her mouth with a ferocity that she would have never expected. She is pinned to the wall adjacent to her closed door; her arms are around his neck, hands in his hair. He is still holding her off the ground, and her legs weave around his. His tongue is invading her mouth and she is pressed so tightly against him that she really can't think of much else. If she had known that losing your mind could feel so good, she would have done this a long time ago.


End file.
